Red Cross expresses ‘outrage’ over treatment of Palestinian prisoners: Report
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz, quoting a security source, is reporting that the Red Cross has expressed “outrage” at how the Israel Prison Service handled the Palestinian prisoners being released from Ketziot Prison today.
Haaretz said the Red Cross alleged that the prisoners were led handcuffed with their hands above their heads and bracelets with the inscription “Eternity does not forget”.
The newspaper quoted the Israel Prison Service spokesman as saying that “the prison fighters are dealing with the worst of Israel’s enemies, and until the last moment on Israeli soil, they will be treated under prison-like rule. We will not compromise on the security of our people.”
Signs of starvation, infections and injuries from beatings among those freed: Palestinian Prisoner’s Society
The NGO has released a statement in which it says, “Once again, every time prisoners are released, we find the prisoners’ bodies reflecting the level of crimes committed against them, including torture that is unprecedented in its level after October 7.”
It added that many of the people released by Israel show signs of starvation and infections, including scabies.
They also show signs of having been subjected to severe beatings, which, according to their testimonies, continued for days and resulted in rib fractures.
Palestinian prisoners are greeted as they exit a Red Cross bus after being released in the West Bank city of Ramallah
Palestinian prisoners transferred to hospitals due to Israeli ‘torture’: Hamas
The prisoners released today are at medical facilities in Gaza “to receive treatment for the abuse and torture that they were subjected to” in Israeli prisons, a statement by the Palestinian group says.
This “confirms the ugliness of what the prisoners are subjected to in the jails” of Israel, it added.
Hamas’s statement continued: “These horrific and ongoing violations against our heroic prisoners constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity.”
It called on the international community, the United Nations and human rights organisations to stop Israel and hold perpetrators accountable.
Freed prisoners report lack of medical treatment in Israeli prisons
Palestinian prisoners released under the Gaza ceasefire agreement with Israel have returned home with stories of mistreatment and lack of medical care in Israeli prisons, including for skin diseases, such as scabies.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), scabies is a parasitic infection caused by tiny mites that burrow into the skin and lay eggs. This process triggers an allergic reaction, resulting in an intense itch and a rash.
Scabies is highly contagious and is spread through direct, prolonged, skin-to-skin contact, or indirectly by people sharing items of clothing, towels or bedding.
Those in institutional settings, such as prisons, are much more at risk, particularly in situations of overcrowding. The condition is treated with topical creams or oral medication.
There is currently little information about the number of freed prisoners who are affected, but so far those reporting symptoms are Palestinian teenagers who were arrested as children by Israeli forces.
Rida Obeid, 18, shows the parts of his body affected by scabies at his home in the village of al-Issawiya, a suburb of occupied East Jerusalem, on Friday, a day after his release from an Israeli prison
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