Israeli jail guards have raided part of a prison in southern Israel, beating dozens of Palestinian inmates and placing several in solitary confinement.
The guards broke into the sector two of Ramon prison on Friday, the Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) reported.

Israeli forces searched the sector, seized all electronic devices and moved all prisoners into another area of the jail, said Amjad al-Najjar, the PPS head in the occupied West bank city of al-Khalili (Hebron), adding that the situation remained “tense” there.

The remarks come as such raids are regular occurrences at Ramon prison, which holds a large number of Palestinian prisoners.

More than 7,000 Palestinian prisoners are currently held in some 17 Israeli jails, dozens of whom are serving multiple life sentences.

About 540 Palestinians are also being held without trial under the so-called administrative detention, which is a sort of imprisonment without trial or charge that allows Israel to incarcerate Palestinians for up to six months. The detention order can be renewed for indefinite periods of time.

The Israeli Prison Service, the agency responsible for overseeing jails, has come under criticism from human rights groups for rampant rights abuses in jails, according to reports (…)