Pandemic sickens 8 Palestinian prisoners in Israel

RAMALLAH, Palestine

Some eight Palestinian detainees have contracted coronavirus in the Gilboa prison in northern Israel, according to the Palestinian Prisoner Society on Tuesday.

In a statement, the NGO said the new infections brought to 95 the number of Palestinian inmates who were infected with COVID-19 in the Gilboa prison.

With Tuesday’s infections, the total number of Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons who tested positive for coronavirus rose to 126.

There are 360 Palestinians held by Israel in the Gilboa prison.

According to Palestinian estimates, there are 4,400 Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons, including 39 women, 155 children and around 350 held under Israel’s administrative detention policy, which allows holding Palestinians without charge or trial.

*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz from Ankara