Lawyer: Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prison face torture, filthy living conditions

Hassan al-Sheikh said in a statement Thursday that Israeli forces have been assaulting Palestinian prisoners inside Etzion prison, while prisoners were also assaulted when Israeli forces initially detained them by breaking into their homes and beating them in front of their families.
 
Furthermore, while the prisoners were being transferred in a military vehicle to the prison, they were also assaulted and “humiliated” by Israeli forces.
 
While being held in prison, Israeli forces have continued to assault them, raid their cells, and routinely prohibited the prisoners from sleeping, drinking water, and using the bathroom.
 
Palestinian prisoners told al-Sheikh that they have also been also denied taking breaks at the prison’s courtyard. The prisoners also complained of ”inedible” food being served inside the prison, saying it was served cold, that they could not identify its ingredients, and that the bread was mostly rotten.
 
Palestinian prisoners also reported they were being forced to bathe in large groups in the same shower without curtains for five minutes only, leading some prisoners to refuse taking showers altogether.
 
Many prisoners have reported suffering from skin disorders due to the poor conditions of the prison and lack of adequate health care. They told the lawyer that the only medical treatment being provided were Acamol pills.
 
They added that the prison was infested with insects, and that the bed sheets they were provided with were filthy to the point that prisoners preferred sleeping without any covers.
 
They have also been prohibited from washing or changing their underclothes.
 
Palestinian prisoners delivered a message through al-Sheikh, calling upon all responsible authorities to intervene and put an end to Israel’s inhumane treatment of Palestinian political prisoners.
 
They also called upon the International Committee of the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders to visit them at Etzion prison and end their suffering.
 
In March, the Palestinian Committee for Prisoners’ Affairs reported that prisoners in Etzion were “aggressively” assaulted by Israeli prison authorities, who also raided the prisoners’ cells and forced them to leave before their rooms were subjected to “humiliating” inspections.
 
Earlier in March, 46 prisoners at Etzion ended hunger strikes after Israeli authorities agreed to let the prisoners receive clothes and other supplies from the prisoners’ committee.
 
The director of the committee’s Bethlehem office, Munqith Abu Atwan, told Ma’an at the time that Etzion detention center and its interrogation rooms were "hell” and “unfit for human life."
 
The prisoners had been on strike to protest the quality and quantity of food served to them, in addition to filthy living spaces, inadequate medical treatment, and lack of regular access to showers.
 
In February, the prisoners' committee also said the detention center was "flooded" from heavy rainfall. The flooding, the committee said, ruined prisoners' clothing and blankets, as mold took root in the dampened materials.
 
The committee added that due to the poor conditions, flu and skin infection had started to spread among the prisoners, who remained untreated.
 
Rights groups have long criticized Israel for mistreatment of Palestinians in Israeli jails, as well as the illegality of their imprisonment.
 
According to the Palestinian prisoners’ rights group Addameer, a total of 7,000 Palestinians are currently held in Israeli jails, many of whom face torture, denial of family visitation, and medical negligence.