The head of the Palestinian Prisoners’ Center for Studies, Rafaat Hamdouna, said the decision to move women prisoners from HaSharon to Damon prison reflects inability of the Israeli prison administration to handle the prisoners’ ongoing and escalating strike since September 5. The protest was sparked against the installation of surveillance cameras in the prison yard and the repressive conditions of detention, Hamdouna explained, saying the transfer action aims to circumvent the protest and impose a situation of confusion and instability. The prisons’ administration, Hamdouna went on to say, carries out untold violations, including medical malpractice, inspection and incursions, ill-treatment during interrogation and transportation. He pointed to the continuous harsh punitive measures against women prisoners like fines, ban of family visits, ferocious investigation methods, the cutoff of hot water with the approach of the winter season, significant reduction of the amounts of meat and vegetables, confiscation of books and prohibiting prisoners from sitting for the high school and university exams, in addition to the overcrowded conditions and isolation of prisoners near the criminal Jewish inmates that continue to aggravate them. Finally, Hamdouna appealed to international human rights and women’s affairs institutions to pressure the occupation authorities to stop the blatant violations and work to release the prisoners. (Al Hayat, October 31, 2018)