Throughout history, liberation struggles have been waged inside prisons as much as outside them. When a national struggle stagnates, it is often the prisoners who remind the rest of the nation of the purpose and goals of their fight. February 2015 has proven to be an especially difficult month for Palestinians held in Israeli jails, in Ramon Prison in particular. Unlike other detention facilities, which have long descriptions and photos on the official Israel Prison Service website, Ramon Prison, located in the Negev Desert, only has a short description on its web page: “This prison is located on Ramon Mountain, right next to Nafha Prison. It was established in 2006 to keep security prisoners in custody.” The security prisoners, that is, the 920 Palestinians being held there, are on the verge of initiating a major protest likely to spread throughout the prison system.

According to the Palestinian Prisoners Club, a nongovernmental organization focusing on the situation of Palestinian inmates, during the second half of February, Ramon experienced a sharp increase in tensions after the transfer of four prison leaders — Zeid Buseis, Ahed Abu Ghelmeh, Mohammed Muali and Jamal Abu al-Hijia — and other actions intended to forestall expected protests demanding an end to solitary confinement and administrative detentions.

In response, prisoners belonging to Islamic Jihad clashed Feb. 21 with guards attempting to enter Wing 4, where prisoners from the movement are held. Ramon is divided into seven wings with prisoners belonging to Fatah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad clustered in one or more wings, depending on their numbers. Prisoners belonging to Hamas and Fatah have multiple wings, while unaffiliated prisoners are held in the remaining wings.

This led prison officials to place four Islamic Jihad prisoners in isolation cells. The following day, according to a Prisoners Club Report, Islamic Jihad inmates returned their food trays untouched and refused to participate in the prisoner count, conducted twice a day to ensure that no one has escaped. On Feb. 23, tensions further escalated when a prisoner from Gaza, Hamzeh Abu Sawwen, attacked a prison guard. In response, guards beat Abu Sawwen badly enough that he was taken to the prison hospital for treatment.