Human rights groups continue to raise alarm bells over the dire conditions endured by Palestinian detainees in Israeli occupation prisons at a time when a tide of freezing temperatures has overwhelmed the Middle East.
Researcher Reyad al-Ashkar from the Palestine Prisoners Center for Studies said the swift drop in temperatures has had tragic upshots on the detainees particularly those held in the Negev desert jail.
Affidavits by prisoners and ex-prisoners provided shocking evidence about the endless suffering Palestinian detainees have been going through in Israeli prisons with the advent of winter season owing to the lack of winter garments mattresses and heating kit.
Al-Ashkar said the detainees have been wearing light garments and that the prison authorities have been denying them access to winter clothes and garments. As a result several prisoners have caught life-threatening diseases.
He called on the international human rights institutions namely the Red Cross to pay urgent visits to the detainees so as to keep tabs on their calamitous condition and take serious measures to protect them.
Rights groups continue to warn of the tragic conditions wrought on Palestinians in Israeli occupation jails due to the poor hygiene and propagation of bacteria owing to the intense humidity and lack of exposure to sunbeams.
Nearly 7000 Palestinian detainees are incarcerated in Israeli prisons among them women and children.
