ISRAELI AUTHORITIES SHUT DOWN TWO PRISONS AFTER ATTACK ON GUARD

Ramallah, 5 Jumadil Awwal 1436/24 February 2015 (MINA) – The Israel Prison Service shut down the Eshel and Nafha jails on Monday after a Palestinian prisoner attacked an officer in Rimon prison, a prisoner’s rights group said.

The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society warned that IPS would likely be carrying out retaliatory measures against Palestinian prisoners following the attack.

The group had said earlier that a prisoner had stabbed an Israeli officer in protest against sanctions imposed on prisoners, Ma’an News Agency quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

Israeli Channel Seven reported that the prisoner was to be transported to receive medical treatment, and that when he was searched, he pulled out a wire and slashed at a guard’s neck and head.

The guard was treated on site, and is in “good condition,” according to the report.

Around 7,000 Palestinians are currently being held in Israeli prisons, more than 2,000 of whom were arrested by Israeli forces over last summer amid heavy tensions and violence in the West Bank and Gaza. (T/P010/P3)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)