Palestinian child in solitary confinement in Israel jail for 27 days

PLO’s Committee of Prisoners and Freed Prisoners announced on Sunday that a Palestinian child, Mus’ab Abu Ghazalah, 15, from Jerusalem, has been in solitary confinement in an Israeli jail for 27 days.

Abu Ghazalah was incarcerated in solitary confinement due to his rejection to be sent to the department for adult Israeli criminals.

In a statement, the PLO committee revealed that Israeli forces had arrested Abu Ghazalah on 22 December, and sent him to the department for Israeli criminals.

The Israeli authorities put several obstacles ahead of his lawyer and rejected his visit to the child, denying his request to move him to the department for political prisoners.

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Since the day of his arrest, Abu Ghazalah began an open-ended hunger strike protesting against being sent to the department for Israeli criminals. However, after being warned of dangerous consequences to his health due to being a child, he suspended his strike.

Once permitted to visit Abu Ghazalah, his lawyer disclosed that the boy is being detained in a single cell which does not contain the basic needs, pointing out that he is in solitary confinement only because of his rejection to be imprisoned with Israeli criminals accused of rape, addiction and other heinous crimes.

The PLO committee divulged that Israeli authorities insist on confining Palestinian prisoners with Israeli criminals, who attack them and steal their personal possessions.

Abu Ghazalah spent one and a half years under house arrest, before he was arrested and sent to solitary confinement.