November 4, 2024/
Ramallah - The Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Club reported a severe health crisis in Negev Prison, where thousands of prisoners are held. The outbreak of scabies, also known as skybos, has spread among hundreds of prisoners, leading to severe and complex health symptoms. The prison administration has deliberately perpetuated the conditions that caused the outbreak and continues to deny treatment, using the disease as a tool for physical and psychological torture.
Recent visits by lawyers from the Commission and the Club, conducted from October 27 to 30, included interviews with 35 prisoners in Negev Prison. Testimonies revealed the inhumane and degrading conditions prisoners face, underscoring that the prison system seeks to harm prisoners through all possible means, including fostering disease outbreaks. These actions accompany a host of systematic crimes, primarily torture and medical neglect, which are exacerbated for the hundreds of prisoners suffering from chronic and severe health conditions.
The Commission and the Club emphasized that the prison administration has recently transferred many sick prisoners to Negev Prison, notorious for torture, physical and sexual assaults, and disease outbreaks, particularly scabies. Among the 35 prisoners visited, 25 were infected with scabies.
The organizations highlighted that this small sample represents hundreds of infected prisoners subjected to systematic medical crimes and continuous torture. The testimonies of all interviewed prisoners describe severe suffering from untreated scabies and the lack of action by the prison administration to address the causes of the outbreak. Key issues include insufficient cleaning supplies, inability to shower regularly, lack of clean clothes (most prisoners own only one set of clothing), no access to washing machines, and restrictions on drying washed clothes, leaving them damp and exacerbating the spread of skin diseases. Despite repeated prisoner demands for treatment or clinic access, the administration remains unresponsive.
Testimonies from Prisoners:
Prisoner R.M., detained for about a year, was brutally assaulted in November last year, causing a severe leg injury that left him in a wheelchair for months. Transferred to Negev Prison in July before completing treatment, he now suffers intense leg pain and relies on crutches. His condition worsened with a scabies infection, leaving him unable to sleep due to extreme itching. He shares a cramped cell with nine other infected prisoners.
Prisoner A.A., detained since 2007, described the scabies outbreak as catastrophic, affecting most prisoners in Negev Prison. Treatment is rarely provided and only for severe cases. He too shares a cell with infected prisoners.
Prisoner M.Y. likened the suffering caused by the disease to torture, noting that even a single blister can cause sleepless nights. Many prisoners now prioritize medical treatment over freedom due to their continuous torment.
Elderly Prisoner Abdul Rahman Salah, 71, a re-arrested Wafaa al-Ahrar deal releasee, is one of the most severe medical cases. He suffers from impaired vision and hearing, alongside other health issues exacerbated by an assault in Negev Prison, leading to partial brain bleeding and temporary memory loss. Despite his deteriorating condition, he was returned to Negev Prison, where he contracted scabies, adding to his unbearable suffering.
Prisoner S.L. has endured scabies for four months, with painful boils covering his body. He has received no treatment.
Prisoner I.M. highlighted the indescribable suffering of Negev prisoners due to the outbreak. Fear of further spread grows as the administration deliberately transfers infected prisoners to cells with healthy individuals, fueling the disease's rapid transmission.
The Commission and the Club warned that the continued spread of scabies, especially among sick prisoners, could result in deaths, compounding the toll of previous deaths caused by torture and neglect. They reiterated that scabies has become a deliberate tool for torture and killing in Israeli prisons.
Despite limited legal efforts by organizations within the 1948 territories, such as appeals to the Israeli Supreme Court, the reality is that the Israeli judicial system plays a key role in enabling the systematic abuse of prisoners.
The organizations renewed their call for the international human rights community to reclaim its role and address the ongoing war crimes perpetrated against Palestinian prisoners. These crimes are committed with the clear support of colonial powers contributing to the Israeli system of brutality.
Note: "All prisoners visited were blindfolded and shackled during the visits, subjected to humiliating and degrading treatment, including being forced to kneel while being moved from their cells."