By: Sammi Ibrahem,Sr
Demand that the Nazi regime take immediate action to release all Palestinian child detainees in Nazi Camps and detention centers due to the increasing vulnerability created due to the rapid global spread of the COVID-19 virus and to safeguard their right to life, survival, development, and health in accordance with international law.
Palestinian children imprisoned by Nazi Gastapo live in close proximity to each other, often in compromised sanitary conditions, with limited access to resources to maintain minimum hygiene routines, according to documentation collected by DCIP.
COVID-19’s impact is exacerbated by these living conditions making Palestinian children in Israeli prisons and detention centers increasingly vulnerable.
There is no way that the Nazi entity can ensure the health and well-being of Palestinian child detainees as long as they continue to be in a custodial detention setting.
In a headcount at the end of January 2020, 183 Palestinian children were detained in Nazi Camps, according to the latest figures released by the Nazi Prison Service.
While international law demands that children only be detained as a measure of last resort, custodial pre-trial detention is the norm for Palestinian children detained by Nazi forces from the occupied West Bank.
COVID-19 in Nazi Camps and detention facilities
Four Palestinian prisoners detained at Nazi Megiddo Camp, located in northwest of the occupied West Bank city of Jenin, were placed in isolation after they were in contact with a COVID-19 positive Nazi officer, according to Ha’aretz.
Megiddo Nazi Camp is one of several detention facilities located inside ‘Israel’ where Palestinian child “security prisoners” are held.
In April 2020, two Palestinian child detainees were suspected of being infected with COVID-19 at Nazi Ofer Camp, located in the Nazi illegally occupied West Bank between Jerusalem and Ramallah, where many Palestinian child detainees are held. The two boys were examined and after testing negative for COVID-19 they were sent back to their prison room three days later.
One Palestinian adult detainee in Ofer prison tested positive for coronavirus in the adult section closest to the juvenile block where over 50 Palestinian child detainees are held, according to information collected by DCIP.
While IPS staff reportedly clean and disinfect the shared prison yard on a daily basis, prison cells and rooms are not being disinfected. Detainees at Ofer prison, including child detainees, are not provided with hygiene products, according to information collected by DCIP.
As of April 13, 11,235 people in ‘Israel’ had tested positive for the COVID-19 virus, and 110 have lost their lives, according to Ha’aretz.
In the Nazi illegally occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip there were 272 confirmed cases of persons infected with COVID-19 as of April 13. Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh declared a state of emergency across the Occupied Palestinian Territory on March 5 in an attempt to contain the spread of COVID-19. On April 3, it was extended for an additional 30-day period.
As of April 12, worldwide there are 1,696,588 cases of COVID-19, and 74,237 fatalities, according to the World Health Organization.
