Palestinian prisoners are being kept under total blackout by Israel

Families of Palestinian prisoners are demanding justice for their family members in Israeli jails, they said in a press conference held on Sunday, 22 October, in the occupied West Bank. 

During the press conference, at the Lions' Square in Ramallah's city-centre, the families read a statement calling on international organisations, including the International Red Cross, to "reveal the destiny of [Palestinian] prisoners after the suspension of family visits" by Israeli authorities.

Since the beginning of the new war on Gaza earlier this month, Israeli authorities cut all communication between Palestinian prisoners and the outside world, and suspended all family visits.

According to human rights groups and Palestinian prisoners' families, Israeli authorities have dramatically reduced electricity and water in Israeli jail sections where Palestinians are being held since the beginning of the current events.

Israel has almost doubled the Palestinian prison population since October 7, and now it's cracking down on prisoners' conditions. This is part of Israel's ongoing genocidal war against Palestinian resistance. https://t.co/duo9j89Osm

— Mondoweiss (@Mondoweiss) October 21, 2023

"We have lost all contact with my father since 8 of October, and the last time he told us that they were being cut off was electricity and water", the 22-year-old daughter of Palestinian detainee Thaer Taha, told The New Arab.

"We families of prisoners are in contact through Whatsapp groups, and whenever one prisoner makes contact with their family, they give news about whoever is in the same jail and we share that news", she added. "We don't know for how long this situation is going to last, especially that my father is under administrative detention for the third six-month term, and given the current situation, the occupation will most probably renew his detention. We don't know when he is going to come back, and we don't know how is he surviving right now."

"The prisoners' families feel like their beloved ones are being ignored, as all the media attention is focused on Israeli hostages in Gaza", Ayah Shreiteh, spokesperson for the Palestinian Prisoners' Club, told TNA.

"This feeling is increased by the fact that the number of detainees in the occupation's jails has spiked in a way that we can't even keep the count, since the 7 of October", she added.

Save the Israeli hostages. Release Palestinian prisoners, quickly https://t.co/TxHSUCqG82.

— Gideon Levy (@gideonle) October 22, 2023

According to the Prisoners' Club, Israeli forces have arrested some 1,000 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since last week, which is more than the total number of Palestinians arrested by Israeli forces Between January and the first week of October, raising the known number of Palestinian detainees and prisoners in Israeli jails to 6,000.

In addition, Israel has arrested an unknown number of Palestinian workers from the Gaza Strip who were working in Israel when the events began on 7 October, estimated to be several thousands. Last week, the Arab Workers Union in Israel demanded that Israel reveal the whereabouts of some 18,000 Palestinian workers from Gaza. The Palestinian Prisoners' Club estimates 4,000 Palestinian workers from Gaza detained in Israeli jails.

In effect, Israel has almost doubled the number of Palestinians in its jails.