Israel’s deliberate mistreatment of Palestinian prisoners

The following statement from the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club first appeared on Resistance News Network on Feb. 2, 2024. This call takes on greater significance in light of the death of the revolutionary Palestinian prisoner Walid Daqqah, 62 years old, who died April 7, as a result of an Israeli prison policy of medical negligence, after a serious deterioration in his health. And on  April 17, far-right Israeli national security minister Ben Gvir called for the execution of Palestinian prisoners “to ease overcrowding.”   

Here, we remind you of the most prominent policies adopted by the administration of the occupation prisons against sick and wounded prisoners after October 7:

• After October 7, the prison administration stopped transferring sick prisoners who need intensive medical follow-up to clinics. 
• The prison administration canceled many examinations for several sick prisoners, which the prisoners had been waiting to undergo for a long time due to procrastination. 
• With a decision from the “israeli” Ministry of Health and with the endorsement of many medical teams, some hospitals and doctors refuse to treat Palestinian prisoners. 
• The prison administration stopped transferring prisoners to hospitals except in very serious cases, exacerbating the suffering of prisoners, especially with them being denied even exit to the prison clinic.
• [They are] deliberately not providing treatment to hundreds of prisoners and detainees who were subjected to acts of abuse and torture, leaving them without any treatment despite their injuries. This was reflected in dozens of testimonies from detainees who were recently released.
• Many sick prisoners were subjected to operations of suppression, transfer and maltreatment. Sick prisoners in the occupation jails face systematic starvation, as do all prisoners in the jails, directly affecting their lives.
• The prison administration has severely restricted the work of legal teams in following up on many medical files for prisoners with chronic diseases.
• Medical devices were confiscated from some prisoners, such as glasses and crutches. Diabetic patients and those needing special foods due to their health condition face severe and dangerous relapses.

It is noted that the number of sick and wounded prisoners is increasing with ongoing acts of abuse, torture and starvation.