Palestinian Doctor Alleges Abuse and Medical Neglect in Israeli Prison

JERUSALEM- A Palestinian physician known for providing low-cost and free medical care to disadvantaged patients has alleged that he was subjected to medical neglect, overcrowded detention conditions and physical abuse while held at Israel’s Ofer prison, according to testimony reported by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

Mazen Rantisi was arrested at his home on June 21 and later indicted on charges of serving as chairman of the board of the Union of Health Work Committees, a nonprofit organization that provides healthcare services to thousands of Palestinians each year.

According to testimony Rantisi gave to a lawyer from the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, prison authorities withheld his regular medication during the first 10 days of his detention and continue to deny him one of his prescribed medicines.

Rantisi said repeated requests to see a doctor were ignored and that a medical worker examined him only once by checking his pulse through a small opening in his cell door.

He also alleged that prison guards routinely carried out raids on his cell several times each week during which detainees were beaten. According to his testimony, younger inmates attempted to shield him from the assaults, taking the blows themselves.

Rantisi further alleged that guards used tear gas during one raid, leaving him with breathing difficulties.

Saja Mishraki-Baransa, the first lawyer to meet Rantisi in person since his arrest, told Haaretz that he had lost a significant amount of weight while in detention.

The physician said prisoners received inadequate food, describing the meals as consisting of very small portions that included moldy bread, nearly spoiled tomatoes and foul-smelling rice.

He also described severe overcrowding, saying 10 detainees were housed in a six-bed cell, forcing four prisoners to sleep in shifts on mattresses placed on the floor.

According to Rantisi, detainees were provided with no cleaning supplies and shared a single bar of soap for personal hygiene and washing clothes. He said prison guards periodically removed mattresses and sprayed them with water, resulting in mold, while the cell was infested with fleas and gnats.

The Israel Prison Service rejected the allegations, saying detainees are held in accordance with Israeli law.

Rantisi’s allegations mirror concerns raised by other Palestinian detainees regarding prison conditions. A report published last year by Israel’s Public Defender’s Office warned of what it described as a significant deterioration in detention conditions and an unprecedented violation of detainees’ rights.

Reuters could not independently verify Rantisi’s allegations or the conditions described in his testimony.