RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- Israeli prison guards on Monday stormed a prison block at Nafha jail, the Palestinian prisoners society said and an Israel prisons official confirmed Tuesday.

Guards locked down cell block 14 at the prison after a search, the prisoners society said in a statement. It said the "barbaric" operation continued for more than 10 hours.

The group said prison guards kept the detainees from breaking their Ramadan fast after sundown, and threatened more actions such as restricting family visits for a month.

A spokeswoman for the Israel Prison Service confirmed the lockdown.

She told Ma'an that searches are routinely conducted for contraband items. "When they (guards) find something the prisoners aren't allowed to have, they punish them," she said.