Today, Monday 22 November, special units of the Israeli Prison Service stormed wing “7” of Ramon Prison, and conducted punitive inspections against the Palestinian prisoners detained there.
The action coincided with Palestinian prisoners’ announcement of their closing of several wings across the Israeli prison system, with the demand that the prison administration re-connect public phones for female prisoners, and for prisoners held in a Ramallah prison’s sickbay.
Under the pretext of “security”, the occupation’s prison authorities deprive hundreds of prisoners of the right to phone calls with their families, and even of family visitations.
In order to prevent the use of mobile phones, the prison administration uses a number of methods, including surprise inspections (including at nighttime) and the installation of jamming devices that block any phones that prisoners were able to smuggle into the prison.
Since six prisoners escaped from Gilboa prison in early September this year, the occupation’s prison authorities have practiced collective punishment against Palestinian prisoners, imposing general measures against all detainees.
Those measures have included raids and punitive inspections, and restrictions on prisoners’ personal items, including clothes and foodstuffs, and on visitations.
The number of Palestinian prisoners held in occupation prisons (until the end of October this year) is estimated to be approximately 4,650, including 34 women, 160 minors, and 500 “administrative detainees”, or those held under military order. Palestinian detainees are spread over 23 prisons and detention centres.
