PLO: Israel is not protecting Palestinian prisoners from Coronavirus

Headline: "The [PLO] Commission of Prisoners' [Affairs]: The [Israeli] Prison Service has allowed prisoners to call their relatives"

"The [PLO] Commission of Prisoners and Released Prisoners' Affairs reported that the occupation's [Israeli] Prison Service has allowed the minor, sick, elderly, and female prisoners who are serving time in a number of Israeli prisons to call their relatives in order to ask how they are doing in light of the unusual situation of the spread of the Corona epidemic.

The commission explained in a report that it published yesterday [March 26, 2020] that this step comes after intensive efforts that were invested by the Commission of Prisoners' [Affairs], the Red Cross organization, and additional international parties in order to pressure the occupation's Prison Service to allow the aforementioned groups to call their relatives.

The commission said that the fears regarding the prisoners’ fate are increasing each day, and particularly regarding the sick and the elderly who have a weak immune system, particularly because they are in wards that do not have even the most minimal health and security conditions, which constitutes a fertile environment for the spread of the virus. The commission added that the [Israeli] Prison Service is exploiting the current situation of the spread of the Coronavirus in order to escalate the steps of harassment against the prisoners, as a continuation of the steps of oppression against them, as it denies them means of protection and public security such as disinfectants, cleansers, and sterilizers, and has not provided the prisoners with any instructions that would enable them to assist in limiting infection by the virus."