The increasing number of COVID-19 cases among Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons confirms the mounting dangers facing them, Hamas spokesperson Hazm Qasem has said.

In a press release on Thursday afternoon, Qasem added that this surge reflects the Israeli prison administration’s disregard for Palestinian detainees and its failure to provide them with sanitisation and cleaning supplies.

This neglect is an “extension to the deliberate medical negligence policy” that led to the death of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, Qasem pointed out.

The Hamas spokesperson held the Israeli occupation and Israeli prison service responsible for the safety of Palestinian detainees amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

Qasem called on international human rights organisation to assume their role towards Palestinian detainees and put an end to the arbitrary Israeli policies against them, above all medical negligence.

Soon after their arrest, Palestinian detainees Naim Abu Turki and Mahmoud al-Ghalith tested positive for COVID-19, whereas detainee Nabil al-Shurbati contracted the deadly virus last Sunday.