BETHLEHEM, (PIC)
According to ex-detainee Khalil Khalid Salah (26 years old) from the town of Al-Khader, south of Bethlehem, Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails face daily horrors and endure a slow death due to the assaults by the Israeli Prison Service (IPS).
Salah, in statements reported by WAFA news agency, said that the Palestinian detainees are subjected to torture and beatings throughout the day and are deprived of the basic necessities of life. He mentioned being deprived of bathing for 45 days due to the absence of hot water. He also pointed out that he was not provided with any medication.
Ex-detainee Salah was released a couple of days ago after spending three years in Israeli prisons. Upon release, he was transferred to Beit Jala Governmental Hospital for medical examination as he was experiencing difficulties in movement and speech, as well as pain in his head, back, and feet due to his suffering in Israeli prisons.
Salah pointed out that two days before his release, the “Keter” unit, affiliated with the IPS, brutally assaulted detainees in section 23, room 3, in Negev Prison.
He added that Israeli soldiers savagely attacked a detainee from the city of Acre until his body was covered with blood, causing him rib fractures and denying him medical treatment.
Salah affirmed that the suffering of the prisoners worsens daily; for example, in detention rooms designed for only six prisoners, the IPS crams 12 prisoners in it, with a bathroom without water or a door.
He also noted that detainees are deprived of food, receiving only five pieces of bread per day, and that in their section, which houses 120 detainees, only three pain relief pills are provided.
He continued, “Soldiers of the ‘Keter’ unit force detainees to walk on their hands and knees and ride on their backs after stripping them naked amid brutal beatings lasting between 5-12 minutes.”
He added that the prisoners are experiencing slow death, having lost a lot of weight, and fungal infections have spread on their bodies.
It is worth mentioning that Israeli occupation forces have arrested nearly 7,000 Palestinians since October last year, joining thousands of prisoners already languishing in Israeli jails.
