GAZA, (PIC)-- Ramiz Al-Halabi, a Palestinian man who served time in Israeli prisons, said Palestinian prisoners await “lifeboats” to deliver them from Israeli jails into freedom, calling the prisons “slaughterhouses” and “hell”.
Israeli authorities released Halabi of Gaza on Tuesday after serving 11 years in prison. There are more than 7,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, including about 800 from Gaza.
Halabi said in a press statement Tuesday: “My sentiments cannot be described at the moment, but it is a mixed sense of joy and sorrow for those prisoners in death traps awaiting lifeboats.”
“Prisoners struggle against death every day,” he said, adding that women prisoners are harassed by prison guards.
“Unity is our greatest asset, because the enemy is only strengthened against us when we are divided and weak,” he went on to say.
Meanwhile, the National and Islamic Forces Prisoners Committee called on the Red Cross for quick action to defend Palestinians in Israeli prisons in light of escalated violations against them, a phenomenon that poses a threat to the lives of thousands of prisoners.
The committee said during a meeting with the international Red Cross director in Gaza Stefan Petrison on Tuesday evening that they demand a clear position on why Israeli authorities have banned Gaza residents from visiting family members in Israeli jails for the fourth consecutive year, noting that there has been no positive role from the Red Cross.
The committee also discussed medical neglect in the Israeli prisons and other violations.
The committee announced it will hold a sit-in Saturday at the the Unknown Soldier square and not in front of the Red Cross compound.
In a related development, ten Palestinian detainees in the Jalama prison suffered from cases of food poisoning after eating spoiled food provided by the prison authority.
The Committee for Palestinian Prisoners reported in a press statement that prisoners went on hunger strike on Monday in the Jalama prison because the prison administration refused to take the victims of food poisoning to the hospital.
River to Sea
Uprooted Palestinian
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