COVID-19 sickens oldest Palestinian detainee in Israel

JERUSALEM

The oldest Palestinian detainee in Israel has contracted the coronavirus and is in critical health condition, Israeli media reported on Tuesday.

The Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper said Fuad al-Shobaki, 82, is seriously ill after contracting COVID-19.

It remains unclear whether al-Shobaki was still in prison or transferred to hospital.

Last week, the PLO’s Commission of Detainees’ Affairs said that al-Shobaki had been diagnosed with the coronavirus.

Al-Shobaki, from the Gaza Strip, was arrested in 2006 and sentenced to 17 years in prison on charges of allegedly attempting to smuggle weapons into the strip.

Al-Shobaki, who held the rank of Major-General in the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority, suffers from cancer.

According to Palestinian estimates, at least 290 detainees in Israeli prisons have been infected with the coronavirus.

According to Palestinian estimates, there are 4,400 Palestinians in Israeli prisons, including 40 women, 170 children, and around 380 people held under Israel’s administrative detention policy, which allows the detention of Palestinians without charge or trial.

*Bassel Barakat contributed to this report from Ankara