PA Coronavirus-libel intensifies: Israel “is deliberately transmitting the virus to the prisoners”
The PA has found the silver lining of the COVID-19 pandemic by using it to breathe new life into its medical libel, according to which Israel mistreats terrorist prisoners and intentionally murders them through neglect and denial of treatment for their illnesses.
The PA purports that Israel is now using COVID-19 as "a lethal weapon" to implement its "policy” of "murdering the prisoners." In a new filler on official PA TV, which seems to blend authentic images with staged acting, the PA claims that Israel is “deliberately transmitting the virus” to the Palestinian terrorist prisoners by way of Israeli prisoners, who according to the PA libel are infecting them with the virus.
This in itself is impossible, as Israel keeps Palestinian terrorist prisoners – the so-called “security prisoners” - strictly separated from the rest of the prisoner population. Moreover, Israel has in fact vaccinated Palestinian prisoners who wanted the vaccine – including murderers, some of whom even received the vaccine before the families of their Israeli victims were eligible to it within the Israeli vaccination program. Finally, no Palestinian prisoner has died of COVID-19.
Text on screen: “The prisoners are in danger
The prisoners in the occupation’s prisons are being subjected to a policy of deliberate medical neglect (sic) by the [Israeli] prison authority, which is a lethal weapon and one of the means to slowly physically and psychologically murdering the prisoners
This policy has led to the death as a Martyr of more than 70 prisoners in the prisons since 1967
The spreading of the Coronavirus inside the prisons
The number of those harmed [by the Coronavirus] inside the occupation’s prisons has reached 295
The occupation is deliberately transmitting the virus to the prisoners through its [Israeli] prisoners
And it is neglecting their treatment
Israeli Minister of Public Security Amir Ohana demanded that the Israeli prison authority not provide Coronavirus vaccines to the Palestinian prisoners (sic., Ohana opposed vaccinating any prisoners – Israeli and Palestinian alike - until the rest of the public was vaccinated first.)”
[Official PA TV, March 11, 2021]
Palestinian Media Watch has documented the new “trend” in the PA’s medical libel since the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic. The PA has falsely claimed that Israel exposed child prisoners to the virus, and has called the virus “Israel's new weapon” against the terrorist prisoners, despite the fact that Israel actually has vaccinated the prisoners against the virus. In addition, PMW has documented numerous other Coronavirus-related libels and statements by the PA during the course of the pandemic.
Libel on medical abuse of Palestinian prisoners - The PA claims that Israel abuses Palestinian prisoners through medical neglect, medical experiments, and by intentionally infecting them with diseases. However, the International Red Cross regularly visits these prisoners and has not documented or accused Israel of any of these claims. Likewise, lists of demands occasionally issued by the prisoners during hunger strikes—such as during one in 2011—include no demands relating to these claims. PMW has documented prisoners talking about how they "lack nothing" in the prisons and that "the worst thing about Israeli prison" is riding in a prison vehicle that has no padding on the seat. When PMW contacted the Israeli Ministry of Health in 2007 regarding PA claims of medical experiments on prisoners, the ministry responded: "Clinical testing on prisoners in prison was never approved, never performed, and is most certainly not taking place at present."