RAMALLAH, West Bank — Many Palestinians are living in a state of anxiety, fearing that their relatives detained in Israeli prisons could become infected with the coronavirus in the absence of the necessary health care and preventive measures.

On March 20, the Israel Prison Service (IPS) imposed a precautionary quarantine on a group of prisoners in Megiddo Prison, said Qadri Abu Bakr, head of the Palestinian Authority (PA) Prisoners Affairs Commission. He told Al-Monitor the prisoners had been in contact with an investigator who had tested positive.

Palestinian concerns have increased due to conflicting news from prisons. On March 19, the Palestinian Prisoners Club and the Hamas-run Prisoners Information Center announced that four prisoners in Megiddo Prison had been infected with the virus, based on what prisoners had reported. However, the IPS denied such claims, saying the four prisoners had been isolated as a precaution but had not shown any symptoms.

On March 24, prisoners at several Israeli prisons have sent their breakfast back and closed some sections of the prisons in refusal of IPS policies, which they claim take advantage of the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19 and rob them of their rights, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Club. These policies include removing more than 140 items from the prisons’ canteens, such as cleaning materials and many detergents such as soap and shampoo, which Abu Bakr noted can help prevent the spread of the virus.