Dozens of Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails have started an open-ended hunger strike in protest at the absence of vital health care by the Israel Prison Service in light of the coronavirus outbreak.
The Israel Prison Service is deliberately putting the lives of Palestinian detainees at risk by withdrawing cleaning products from the prison canteens and refusing to disinfect the prison cells or conduct any tests to the detainees suspected of having the virus.
According to detainee Fekri Mansour 40 who is being held in Shata Prison Palestinian detainees are denied basic hygiene supplies and vital health care services although a number of Israeli jailers and interrogators and Palestinian prisoners have tested positive for coronavirus.
Mansour said that Israeli jailers do not wear masks or gloves or take any protective measures while dealing with Palestinian detainees. Prison rooms are small and dirty and each of them has at least six prisoners he added warning of an imminent disaster.
Mansour appealed to human rights organizations to pressure the Israeli occupation authorities to allow medical tests provide the necessary cleaning supplies to Palestinian prisoners and take the required measures to protect them from the novel virus.
