The Ofer Prison Riot and Palestinian Prisoner Payments
PERSPECTIVES | Prisoners at the Ofer Prison near the Palestinian city of Ramallah rioted, resulting in over 100 injuries and destroyed prison cells. What does this mean for January 25, when Palestinians are expected to come out en masse to protest Israel's activities in the West Bank? What about the future of the prisoner payments? Our Mohammad Al-Kassim analyzes. Story: Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza protested this week after several groups representing Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody announced a 'state of emergency' after a number of inmates were reported injured during a riot at Ofer Prison near the West Bank city of Ramallah on Monday. In the Israeli city of Haifa, three individuals were released Thursday morning after being arrested Wednesday night during demonstrations held in the city in solidarity with Palestinian security prisoners, according to Walla news outlet. Israeli prison authorities were carrying out a mass search for contraband phones when violence broke out earlier this week. The Israel Prisons Services (IPS) told i24NEWS that six inmates and three guards were injured in the clashes. Palestinian media reports put the injury toll much higher, claiming that six prisoners had broken bones, 40 suffered head injuries, while dozens more were injured by tear gas inhalation or rubber bullets. Palestinian media has reported that over 1,000 prisoners were involved in the riot and others who were not are refusing food as part of an organized hunger strike this week in protest against an ongoing crackdown by Israeli authorities against the inmates. Israel’s Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan said in a statement Monday that IPS would 'use all means at its disposal to restore order'. 'No threat or pressure on the part of the terrorists will divert me from my decision to act to change incarceration conditions,' Erdan added, saying he would cut prison conditions to 'the minimum required'. According to Israeli human rights group B’Tselem, which receives statistics from IPS and the Israeli military, there were 5,370 Palestinian 'security detainees and prisoners' currently in IPS custody in various facilities throughout Israel. 298 of these inmates are from the Gaza Strip. An additional 564 prisoners are being held for entering Israel illegally or without a permit, 10 of whom are from Gaza. Of the total number of Palestinian prisoners, 1,429 are in detention until the conclusion of legal proceedings, meaning they are imprisoned without bail as they await judgement. 3,207 out of the 5,370 are serving sentences handed down by Israel’s military court system. Some 494 Palestinians in Israeli prisons are administrative detainees, which means they are being incarcerated without trial or charge based on suspicion by authorities that they intend to commit a security offense in the future. There is no legally set time limit for administrative detainees and according to B’Tselem, the evidence on which administrative detention is based is typically not disclosed to those held without charge or trial. Palestinians who are not Israeli citizens facing legal proceedings do so in Israeli military courts, regardless of if the subject of the proceedings is security related or not. For more, see our ⬇ Website Articles: https://www.i24news.tv/en Live: https://video.i24news.tv/page/live?cl... (Subscription) Replay: https://video.i24news.tv/page/5a97bcc... (Subscription) Social Media Tracy: / talexander_i24 Mohammad: / alkassimm Facebook: / i24newsen Twitter: / i24news_en Instagram: / i24news
