INTERNATIONAL organisations have been called on to secure the release of Palestinians held in squalid Israeli jails amid the threat of a coronavirus outbreak.

The Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) launched a petition on Tuesday demanding the immediate release of more than 1,000 Palestinians, including those held on minor charges and those suffering from health conditions.

Israeli prison authorities have been accused of a failure to take measures to protect Palestinian prisoners from the risk of coronavirus.

As reported in the Morning Star last week, prisoners have been asked to cover their faces with socks due to a lack of face masks and other protective equipment.

Prisons remain overcrowded while prison authorities have failed to sterilise cells.

Two Israeli police officers in the West Bank’s Ofer Prison and another in Israel’s Nitzan Prison — which holds Palestinian prisoners — in Ramla recently tested positive for Covid-19.

Ofer was finally closed yesterday after a Palestinian prisoner tested positive for Covid-19, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Commission.

The petition calls on the International Committee of the Red Cross to “assume its responsibility” and increase staffing amid a serious lack of numbers working in the occupied territories.

About 5,700 Palestinians are believed to be held in 23 Israeli prisons including 180 children, 41 women and scores of elderly people.

Many are in jail on administrative detention, which means that they can be held indefinitely without trial and without charges being made known to them or their legal teams.

PPS is calling on the Israeli authorities to follow the lead of other countries including Iran, where prisoners are being temporarily released to stop the spread of coronavirus among the prison population.

Israel has reported over 5,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and 21 deaths. Cases in the occupied territories have reached 117 with one death, with figures are set to rise.