Gunfire inside the cells: Two rights groups document prisoners' testimonies about grave violations

Two organizations, Physicians for Human Rights and the Public Committee Against Torture, documented 22 testimonies from Palestinian prisoners who said prison personnel fired rubber or plastic bullets at them from close range and inside the cells. The injuries include fractures and the amputation of a testicle, and the two organizations are demanding an immediate halt.

Physicians for Human Rights and the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel documented 22 testimonies from prisoners and detainees, most of them Palestinians, who said prison personnel fired projectiles described as rubber, plastic or sponge bullets at them from close range and inside the cells. Most of the testimonies were collected over the past year. The medical documents reveal that a 45-year-old prisoner suffered the amputation of a testicle after gunfire at Ofer Prison, and that another suffered a leg fracture. The prisons included Ofer, Ganot, Ketziot, Gilboa, Megiddo, Nitzan and Eshel. The two organizations demanded that the government's legal adviser and Israel Prison Service officials halt the practice immediately and disclose the types of ammunition. The Prison Service acknowledged using "less lethal means" but refused to disclose what they are. Muhannad Abu Ghosh warned of an unprecedented escalation, and lawyer Merav Ben Zeev described the response as contempt for the prisoners' bodies.