Shtayyeh calls for release of Palestinian prisoners amid coronavirus fears
We will send a message to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to ask them to work to release the prisoners and ensure that the Israeli Prisoner Service maintains public safety measure
By KHALED ABU TOAMEHPalestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh gestures during an interview with Reuters in his office in Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, June 27, 2019(photo credit: RANEEN SAWAFTA/ REUTERS)
Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh on Saturday called for the immediate release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons, especially sick inmates and those suffering from incurable diseases, due to the rise of the number of Israelis who have tested positive for the coronavirus.“We will send a message to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to ask them to work to release the prisoners and ensure that the Israeli Prisoner Service maintains public safety measures to protect our prisoners,” Shtayyeh said in a Facebook post.He said the PA’s Detainees and Ex-Detainees Commission will follow up with humanitarian and legal frameworks to ensure the safety of more than 6,000 prisoners held in Israeli prisons.In response, several Palestinians called on Shtayyeh to release prisoners held in PA prisons in the West Bank.“What about the dozens of political detainees who are being held in Palestinian Authority prisons?” they asked Shtayyeh.Meanwhile, three new cases of the coronavirus were detected in Bethlehem on Saturday, bringing the total to 38, PA government spokesman Ibrahim Milhem said.The three new cases, he added, were individuals who had been in contact with already people in Bethlehem. Last week, the PA confirmed one coronavirus case in Tulkarm, the only case outside Bethlehem and its surroundings.Milhem said 6,429 Palestinians suspected of having the disease are currently in home quarantine in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.The PA Ministry of Religious Affairs announced on Saturday evening a ban on holding prayers in mosques and churches in all Palestinian communities. The ministry urged worshipers to pray at home until further notice. The decision came after many Muslim worshipers converged on various mosques in the West Bank and Gaza Strip for Friday prayers, ignoring warnings by PA health and religious officials.
