80 percent of Palestinian prisoners suffered scabies infection in Israeli jails: rights group

LONDON: About 80 percent of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails have been infected at some point with scabies, a parasitic skin infestation, due to a lack of proper hygiene supplies and overcrowding, according to the Palestinian Prisoners' Society. The society's legal team collected testimonies during visits to Israeli jails in October and early November and found continued spread of scabies due to inadequate healthcare provided by Israeli authorities, according to the Palestine News Agency. The society said thousands of detainees suffer from a severe shortage of clothing, one of the main factors contributing to the spread of the skin disease. Prisoners also suffer from weekly raids into their cells by armed units affiliated with the Israeli Prison Service, accompanied by police dogs. Some prisoners suffered injuries from rubber-coated bullets. The Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs reported on Sunday that Kamal Fayed Hosni, Amir Daghra and Adam Abu Obeid, who are held in Israel's Ofer prison, are experiencing deteriorating health. All three of them are suffering from various stages of scabies. There are 9,300 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons. Of those, 118 are serving life sentences, 90 are women, 350 are children, and 3,101 are administrative detainees. Israeli authorities have detained 26,000 people in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem since late 2023, including 800 women and more than 2,000 children, most of whom were later released.