Awad al-Rujoub
05 July 2021•Update: 05 July 2021
RAMALLAH, Palestine
Israeli forces on Monday stormed prison cells in the Ofer military prison in western Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, and assaulted Palestinian detainees.
In a statement, the Palestine Liberation Organization's detainees committee condemned "the barbaric assault the (Palestinian) detainees in Ofer (prison) experienced this (Monday) morning."
The statement said the Israeli special prison guards stormed unit 21 of the prison, assaulted the detainees, smashed their belongings, and then moved them to another unit.
The statement added that the unit that was attacked includes 120 Palestinian detainees.
The committee held the Israeli authorities fully responsible for what happened in the Ofer prison, urging international rights groups to "immediately intervene to stop Israeli crimes against Palestinian detainees."
Last month, leaked footage of Israeli forces brutally assaulting Palestinian detainees in the Negev prison in southern Israel sparked outrage among Palestinians and led to calls for international protection for the Palestinians in Israeli jails.
According to Palestinian official figures, around 5,300 Palestinian detainees -- including 40 women, 250 children under the age of 18 and around 520 held under Israeli administrative detention policy with no charges or trials -- are languishing in Israeli jails.
* Translation and contribution by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara
