Prison Report: Palestinians in Israeli Detention during Covid-19

Abstract

This first-person account, written by the partner of a Palestinian prisoner, brings to life detention conditions in Israeli prisons that have been well documented by human rights and other organizations. It highlights the particular dangers these carceral facilities pose to the men, women, and children being held—many in so-called administrative detention, without trial or charge—during the Covid-19 pandemic. Part reportage and part cri de coeur, this testimonial touches on the most immediate and existential aspects of imprisonment for Palestinians in Israeli prisons: poor sanitary conditions and insufficiency of Covid-19 mitigation measures, as well as systemic medical negligence, such as the withholding of medical care at a time of heightened threat and greater vulnerability.