Israeli Guards Injure Eight Palestinian Prisoners in Violent Clashes
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- Published on Thursday, 23 August 2012 12:34
PNN
Eight Palestinian prisoners were injured in a fight with Israeli prison guards at Ramon prison on Wednesday, the Palestinian Authority Minister for Prison Affairs said.
Issa Qaraqe said in a statement that the fight, which lasted for two hours, broke out after Israeli prison guards raided Section Six of the prison under the pretext of inspection. The guards tried to force the detainees to undergo strip searches, and were assaulted when they refused, Qaraqe said in the statement on WAFA's website, the Palestinian Authority's news agency.
Tear gas was used by the prison guards, and detainees apparently beaten with batons all over their bodies during the clash. Several prisoners were put in solitary confinement after the fight. The section was then closed off, and electricity and water shut down.
“Israel is responsible for Palestinian detainees' lives and health. We condemn this aggressive attack on Palestinian prisoners, and we call the international community to provide safety and protection for Palestinian prisoners," Qaraqe said in the statement.
The Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) identified seven of the wounded prisoners in a press release: Moayyad Jaradat, Raed Balawna, Fawwaz Abdeen, Montaser Saif, Assaf Zahran, Motawakkel Radwan and Mohammad Abu Sharqiyya. All were sent to solitary confinement.
The PPS said that the injured prisoners will be facing criminal charges. The statement also said that the prisoners had refused their meals in protest over the violence.
Jamal Rajpoub, the representative of Ramon's prisoners, has discussed the incident with the prison administration, and will be meeting them again on Friday, according to the PPS.
Rajoub said, “What happened in Ramon is a compliance with what Ben Caspet, an Israeli journalist said, who described the Palestinian political prisoners as pigs.”
