Palestinian organisations to create committee on prisoners' health amid hunger strike

A number of Palestinian organizations focused on prisoners, human rights, and health decided on Wednesday to establish a committee to follow the cases of Palestinians in poor health being held in Israeli prisons.

Palestinian Committee of Prisoners’ Affairs lawyer Kamil Natour; Hurryat Center for Defense of Liberties and Civil Rights head Heli Al-Araj; Palestinian medical association members Ibrahim Khamis and Bashar Fadil; and Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS) lawyer Lubna Hindi met on Wednesday to discuss the plan.

The committee reportedly intends to push for Palestinian doctors to be allowed to visit Palestinian prisoners and inspect the medical conditions in Israeli prisons, as well as to take legal action when prisoners’ lack of medical care in Israeli custody can be proven.

The organizations’ officials said that more than 700 Palestinian prisoners currently suffer due to poor medical access, 150 of whom reportedly in serious health conditions requiring “immediate medical intervention.” The Palestinian Prisoners' Center for Studies had previously estimated that some 1,000 sick Palestinians were held in Israeli prisons.

The announcement comes as PPS reported that the health conditions of four hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners were seriously deteriorating, as Israeli authorities refused to transfer them to hospitals, keeping them instead in medical facilities inside detention centers. more

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