Israel to allow foreign press to visit Ofer prison

Israel will allow foreign journalists to visit Ofer detention center near Ramallah on Sunday, a Palestinian Authority official said.Issa Qaraqe, PA minister of detainee affairs, said during a press conference Saturday that the unprecedented visit is an attempt to alter the truth about conditions for Palestinian prisoners.Israel will try to present the prison as a "luxurious five star hotel," he said.Since February, two Palestinian detainees have died in Israel's prison system and thousands of detainees are denied basic rights, Qaraqe said.Journalists at the briefing should ask Palestinian detainees about their medical issues, infirmary conditions, and whether Israeli doctors treat them when they are sick, the PA minister added.They should ask Palestinian minors about interrogation methods and torture they were subjected to by Israeli prison authorities, Qaraqe said.Thousands of prisoners launched hunger-strike action and huge popular protests took place across the West Bank following the death of Arafat Jaradat, 30, in Israeli prison custody in February.An autopsy showed he died from severe torture, Palestinian officials said.Last week, cancer-stricken detainee Maysara Abu Hamdiyeh died in an Israeli hospital. The Palestinian leadership said Abu Hamdiyeh died because Israeli authorities refused him treatment until his cancer had spread.