Israel confiscates 2,000 books from Palestinian prisoners

Israeli occupation forces have confiscated over 2,000 research papers and educational books from Palestinian prisoners being held in the Hadarim Detention Centre, a report by the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club has revealed.

The documents involved “security issues” according to the authorities, the rights group said.

Occupation forces regularly attack educational programmes in prisons by confiscating books, prohibiting the entry of stationary and obstructing the prisoners’ enrolment in universities, the organisation added.

According to the report, Hadarim Detention Centre, which contains nearly 120 prisoners, is the only centre where prisoners can continue their higher education. Prisoners with graduate degrees teach fellow prisoners and supervise their research.

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Released Palestinian prisoner, Amin Abu Wardeh, noted that the occupation has not only confiscated manuscripts and books written by prisoners, but has also targeted books brought in by the Red Cross in coordination with the prison administration. They try keep prisoners “uneducated” by confiscating their university and academic books from their rooms, “claiming they are materials of incitement”.