RAMALLAH, Palestine

The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)-run Commission for Detainees and Ex-Detainees' Affairs on Friday called on the International Committee of the Red Cross (ISRC) to visit women prisoners in Israel’s Damon prison and check their health conditions.

In a statement, the commission urged the ICRC to send an "urgent medical team to Damon prison to inspect the health conditions of the infected female prisoners and the female prisoners who are subject to sanitary isolation, and to provide them with all the necessary medicines, food, and sterilizers."

"The number of female prisoners infected with the coronavirus has risen to seven which doubles the anxiety and fear for them," the statement said.

The Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) reported on Thursday that the number of prisoners infected with the coronavirus since April 2021 climbed to 410.

According to Palestinian NGOs, there are around 4,600 Palestinian inmates in Israeli jails, including at least 600 sick prisoners.

*Writing by Bassel Barakat