RAMALLAH (Palestine Foundation Information Center) The Detainees and Ex-Detainees Commission and the Palestinian Prisoner Society reported that detainees held in the Israeli “Menashe” camp have been carrying out protest steps for several days. Yesterday, they informed their lawyers during a video conference before the occupation court that they had begun a hunger strike in protest against the difficult and harsh detention conditions they face.
The Commission and the Society said in a joint statement on Wednesday that the number of detainees held in the “Menashe” camp as of yesterday is about 100. They noted that this camp is one of several camps established by the occupation, coinciding with the escalation of arrest campaigns in the West Bank since the onset of the extermination war over 14 months ago. Geographically, it is located north of the West Bank near the “Salem” camp and is administratively under the occupation army, similar to the “Etzion” and “Huwara” detention centers, which were established during the second intifada amid rising arrest campaigns. The occupation later retained these camps for holding new detainees, and they are among the worst detention centers.
In this context, the Commission and the Society highlighted that there are dozens of reports from human rights organizations that have documented over the years the nature of the harsh and degrading detention conditions, which have intensified, after the war, against detainees due to severe torture, specifically in the “Etzion” detention center, which has transformed into a site for torturing and abusing detainees after the war. There are numerous testimonies documenting what detainees experience in the mentioned camp. Since the beginning of the war, the occupation has deliberately held dozens of detainees in “Etzion” for several months, making the detainees’ only wish to be transferred from the camp, which represents a place of humiliation and terror.
One detainee told his lawyer through the court that the camp does not provide warm water, especially in the severe cold, and it lacks a clinic or even a nurse. Some detainees suffer from health issues and have been inside the camp for a while, in addition to suffering from the crime of starvation and a severe shortage of clothing.
The Commission and the Society pointed out that despite numerous calls from specialized institutions to close the “Etzion” and “Huwara” camps, the occupation insists on using them as a station for abusing and torturing detainees, under the management of the occupation army. Today, instead of closing the “Etzion” and “Huwara” camps, the occupation is expanding the network of army camps by establishing new camps like “Menashe,” alongside other camps created for Gaza detainees, such as the “Naftali” camp.
They also noted that since its establishment, the camp administration has imposed significant restrictions and complications on visits for detainees there, allowing visits only once since its establishment. They emphasized that legal efforts are being made by lawyers to improve the conditions of the detainees and convey their demands, as well as to allow visits.
