INTERNATIONAL: Conditions of Palestinian Prisoners in the Prisons of the Israeli Occupation

Introduction

More than 9,400 Palestinian and Arab prisoners and detainees continue to suffer behind the bars of Israeli occupation prisons, amid an unprecedented escalation in systematic policies targeting them through an extensive apparatus of torture, repression, and ill-treatment.

More than 100 prisoners have died inside Israeli prisons, and the identities of 90 of them have been made public.

This fact sheet documents the conditions of prisoners and detainees based on available testimonies and human rights reports. It also examines the network of Israeli officials linked to these violations, as well as international developments concerning violations committed against prisoners, including sexual violence against children.

General Overview of Prisoners’ Conditions

Israeli prisons are experiencing severe overcrowding, forcing dozens of prisoners to sleep on the floor in cells holding numbers far beyond their intended capacity.

Prisoners are also subjected to a systematic policy of starvation. Food portions are meager and insufficient to meet their basic nutritional needs, causing many prisoners to lose tens of kilograms of body weight.

The deprivation extends to basic personal hygiene supplies, including soap, shampoo, and sanitary pads. Razors are prohibited, while prisoners are forced to remain for prolonged periods without a change of clothes.

These conditions have contributed to a severe deterioration in prisoners’ health and the spread of skin diseases, particularly scabies.

This is compounded by deliberate medical neglect, including the denial of adequate care and treatment to prisoners suffering from chronic illnesses, prisoners with gunshot wounds, and pregnant women.

Torture and humiliation have also intensified, including repeated strip searches, beatings, the use of stun grenades and electric shocks, and prolonged shackling.

Systematic Sexual Violence: A Tool of Repression and Subjugation

Sexual violence against Palestinian prisoners has emerged, according to documented testimonies and human rights reports, as a systematic pattern of punishment and subjugation rather than a series of isolated or exceptional incidents.

Documented violations include rape, sexual harassment, and strip searches, as well as verbal abuse, threats of rape, and physical assaults targeting prisoners’ genitalia.

These practices and others are used as tools of control, intended to subjugate prisoners and break their will.

Such practices are not new. They have developed alongside the detention system itself, with sexual violence becoming, according to human rights documentation, part of the repressive structure of that system.

With large numbers of prisoners remaining in detention, it is impossible to fully document all violations. Many victims are also reluctant or afraid to disclose what they have endured due to social stigma, threats, and the conditions of their detention.

As a result, the true scale of these violations remains largely concealed.

Documented Violations Against Prisoners

1. The Spread of Scabies and Skin Diseases

Prisoners’ sections across multiple prisons have witnessed a severe and widespread outbreak of scabies, with legal visits revealing the extent of the suffering.

In some overcrowded cells holding approximately eight prisoners, at least three are infected. Some prisoners have suffered from scabies for prolonged periods without receiving effective treatment, while others experience boils, sores, and acute infections.

According to documented testimonies, Israeli authorities have canceled legal visits for infected prisoners, further restricting the ability to reveal the full extent of the health crisis.

The disease has spread extensively in several prisons, including Ofer, Megiddo, Naqab, and Janot.

2. Simultaneous and Violent Repression Campaigns

The prison administration carries out widespread and simultaneous repression campaigns across prison sections, using stun grenades, pepper spray, rubber bullets, police dogs, and batons against defenseless prisoners.

These assaults have resulted in eye and head injuries and broken teeth. Some prisoners have lost consciousness, while others have suffered nervous breakdowns.

3. Escalating Physical Torture

Prisoners and their lawyers have documented a sharp escalation in physical torture and the use of increasingly brutal methods.

Documented practices include electric shocks, breaking prisoners’ fingers, and severe beatings targeting sensitive parts of the body.

Mattresses are also removed from cells for hours, forcing prisoners to sit on metal bed frames.

4. Slow Killing Through Starvation

Lawyers have confirmed that the deliberate and systematic policy of starvation in several prisons, particularly against prisoners from the Gaza Strip, has reached a level that can be described as “slow killing.”

Some prisoners have lost more than 40 kilograms of body weight, while deaths associated with these conditions have also been documented.

5. The Network Behind the Violations

Journalistic investigations have exposed a broad network of Israeli officials who oversee these policies and provide institutional cover for them.

The documentation identifies, among others, Israel Prison Service Commissioner Kobi Yaakobi, the Service’s legal adviser Eran Nahon, and its chief medical officer Liav Goldstein, in addition to field commanders in several prisons.

6. Suppression of Religious Practices

Prison administrations impose restrictions on prisoners’ ability to practice their religion, including prohibiting collective prayers and restricting religious observance inside prison sections.

Testimonies have also documented raids on prisoners’ cells in connection with religious practices and the recitation of religious chants, accompanied by verbal abuse and insults that violate prisoners’ dignity and religious beliefs.

Key Policies Disclosed by Prisoners and Lawyers

1. Legislation Concerning the Execution of Prisoners

Legislation commonly referred to as the “prisoner execution law” includes provisions related to granting military courts the authority to impose death sentences on Palestinians on the basis of what are described as “nationalist motives.”

The report describes this legislation as one of the most discriminatory laws in Israel.

2. Isolation and Denial of Legal Safeguards

Policies imposed on prisoners severely restrict communication between lawyers and their detained clients, particularly prisoners from the Gaza Strip, undermining their right to legal representation and access to legal counsel.

According to the report, this is accompanied by restrictions preventing the International Committee of the Red Cross from visiting prisoners, creating a “dark zone” beyond effective independent international oversight.

3. Expansion of Administrative Detention

The number of administrative detainees has reached 3,376, including children and women.

They are held without charge or trial under detention orders that can be repeatedly renewed for effectively indefinite periods, based on what is referred to as a “secret file.”

Prison Conditions: A View from Inside

Damon Prison

Overcrowding: At least six women prisoners sleep on the floor in each cell. Available figures indicate a significant number of women prisoners, including girls, pregnant women, and mothers separated from their children as a result of detention.

Food: Food portions are extremely limited, with each prisoner receiving approximately six or seven slices of bread per day. The starvation policy continues, and one woman prisoner has lost approximately 30 kilograms.

Personal Hygiene: There is a severe shortage of hygiene supplies. Razors are prohibited, and some women prisoners are forced to use pieces of cloth instead of sanitary pads.

Religious Needs: Full prayer garments are unavailable, forcing women prisoners to borrow headscarves from one another.

Medical Care: Two women prisoners with cancer are denied necessary treatment while their health conditions continue to deteriorate.

Repression and Isolation: Testimonies have documented repeated crackdowns involving severe beatings and shackling over minor allegations such as hiding spoons or pillows, according to lawyer Hassan Abadi.

Legal Status: The report indicates that there are 89 women prisoners, including three girls, three pregnant women, 19 administrative detainees, and two women suffering from cancer. Most are held in Damon Prison, while others are held in interrogation and detention centers.

Megiddo Prison

Child Prisoners: Megiddo holds approximately 360 child prisoners, including three girls. According to testimonies, they are subjected to daily physical abuse, sexual harassment, and denial of family visits.

Health: Long-term prisoners and elderly detainees face serious medical neglect, with chronic illnesses left untreated. Prisoners also suffer severe pain and serious symptoms caused by the spread of scabies without adequate medical follow-up.

Torture: Repeated raids and strip searches are carried out, accompanied by severe beatings and the use of stun grenades.

Naqab Prison

Food: A systematic starvation policy has caused severe and unprecedented weight loss among prisoners.

Health: Prisoners’ health conditions have deteriorated significantly amid the spread of scabies, quarantine measures, and continued deliberate denial of medical care.

Hygiene: Clothing and hygiene supplies are severely limited, while razors remain prohibited for prolonged periods.

Legal Status: Most prisoners have not been formally charged. The number classified as “unlawful combatants” stands at 1,283.

Gilboa Prison

Ramleh Prison – Rakevet Section

Daily Torture and Abuse: Prisoners are subjected to repeated rounds of repression and torture inside narrow underground cells, including severe beatings and the use of police dogs, gas, and batons.

Testimonies have also documented the breaking of prisoners’ fingers, blows targeting sensitive parts of the body, and the indiscriminate firing of rubber bullets, resulting in eye and head injuries and broken teeth, as well as cases of fainting and nervous breakdowns.

Humiliation and Shackling: Handcuffs are deliberately tightened around prisoners’ wrists, restricting blood circulation and causing severe pain. Prisoners remain shackled while in the prison yard and are prohibited from raising their heads or speaking.

They are also forced to kneel during counts and searches.

Detention Conditions: Four prisoners are held in each cell, with one forced to sleep on the floor. Mattresses are removed for hours, forcing prisoners to sit on metal bed frames. Prisoners are also prohibited from speaking inside their cells.

Health and Hygiene: Prisoners are systematically denied medical care amid the spread of scabies and the absence of adequate treatment. They are also deprived of basic hygiene supplies and restricted from practicing their religion.

Food: Prisoners suffer from starvation and insufficient food portions.

Restrictions on Communication: Lawyers’ visits are preceded by threats and verbal abuse aimed at preventing prisoners from exposing their conditions of detention. Conversations between prisoners and their lawyers are monitored, and some prisoners are pressured to withdraw legal complaints. Copies of the Quran are also prohibited from being brought into the prison.

Janot Prison

Violations: Prisoners are subjected to repeated raids, strip searches, shackling, physical assaults, stun grenades, and denial of showers.

Testimonies have also documented the use of pepper spray and gunfire, as well as assaults against prisoners during their time in the prison yard and the cancellation of yard time in some cases.

Health and Food: Food is poor and scarce, while several prisoners suffer from emaciation and shortages of clothing and bedding.

Scabies and fungal infections are widespread, and the health of a number of prisoners has deteriorated due to malnutrition and medical neglect.

Suppression of Religious Practices: The prison administration imposes restrictions on religious practices, including preventing collective prayer in certain cases and raiding prisoners’ rooms in connection with religious observance, accompanied by verbal abuse that violates their dignity and religious beliefs.

Palestinian Prisoners: Major Investigations and Reports

The situation of Palestinian prisoners has received extensive coverage in prominent Western and Israeli media outlets.

The New York Times Investigation: Nicholas Kristof published an extensive investigation documenting testimonies concerning Palestinian prisoners who were subjected to rape and torture by Israeli soldiers, including accounts of dogs being used in sexual assaults against detainees.

According to the report, the Israeli government reacted angrily and threatened legal action against the newspaper, while Kristof stood by his reporting despite criticism and legal threats.

Haaretz Investigation – “Ben Gvir’s Partners”: An extensive investigation by journalist Hagar Shezaf exposed a network of Israeli officials whom the investigation held directly responsible for violations committed against prisoners.

According to the investigation, Israeli prisons had “effectively turned into torture camps,” where prisoners were stripped of their humanity.

Officials named in the investigation included Israel Prison Service Commissioner Kobi Yaakobi, the Service’s legal adviser Eran Nahon, and its chief medical officer Liav Goldstein, along with commanders of Megiddo, Naqab, and Ofer prisons.

The investigation also pointed to an almost complete lack of accountability, including the Prison Service’s refusal to release investigation reports concerning prisoner deaths and delays by the police and prosecution in addressing such cases.

International Developments Concerning Sexual Violence Against Children

Documentation of sexual violence against Palestinian child detainees has drawn significant international and UN attention, amid reports by international, Palestinian, and UN human rights organizations concerning patterns of sexual violence inside Israeli prisons and detention facilities.

Documented violations include rape, assault with objects, and forms of torture targeting the genitalia.

These developments underscore the importance of international legal mechanisms addressing violations against Palestinian prisoners, as well as the need to investigate their systematic nature and ensure accountability for those responsible.

Key International Positions and Actions

International Positions on Children’s Rights: Violations against Palestinian children have prompted international attention and action concerning documented sexual violence against children in the context of armed conflict.

Position of Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur: Albanese has referred to evidence indicating that Palestinian prisoners from the Gaza Strip were subjected to torture and has highlighted the systematic nature of torture in Israeli detention facilities.

International Criminal Court: Legal proceedings and investigations concerning war crimes and violations committed in the occupied Palestinian territory continue, including matters related to accountability for serious violations.

International Positions on Legislation Concerning the Execution of Prisoners: Legislation relating to the execution of prisoners has raised international and human rights concerns due to its implications under international human rights law and international humanitarian law.

• – International media outlets

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