RAMALLAH(Palestine Foundation Information Center) The Palestinian Prisoner Society and the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees said in a joint statement that the widespread outbreak of scabies among Palestinian prisoners, in Israeli prisons — namely in Negev, Megiddo, Nafha, and Ramon — is due to the retaliatory measures imposed by the prison administration on prisoners and detainees after October 7. Among those affected are child prisoners in Megiddo prison.
The joint report highlighted that the spread of scabies among the prisoners was exacerbated by depriving them of necessary cleaning materials, including those used for personal hygiene.
Additionally, the reduction in the amount of water available, the limited time allotted for prisoners to bathe, and the confiscation of clothing from prisoners have led to a situation where most inmates rely on a single change of clothes. Some have been wearing the same clothes for long periods, forcing them to wash and wear them while still wet, which has contributed to the spread of the disease.
The report mentioned that the severe overcrowding in the cells and sections, resulting from the escalation of daily arrest campaigns and poor ventilation, along with isolating prisoners in cells devoid of sunlight, has also caused the spread of scabies among prisoners.
The deliberate transfer of infected prisoners from one section to another, instead of isolating them or delaying their isolation intentionally, has accelerated the spread of the infection among the inmates.
According to prisoners’ organizations, the Israeli occupation forces continue to carry out systematic arrest campaigns as one of their main established policies, which have escalated unprecedentedly since the start of the ongoing extermination war in Gaza. This escalation is evident not only in the number of detainees but also in the level of crimes being committed, alongside raids on the homes of detainees’ families, which are accompanied by widespread destruction and damage.
The Israeli occupation forces have arrested more than 10,400 citizens from the West Bank, including Jerusalem, since the beginning of the ongoing war of genocide on Gaza on October 7 last year.
