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Written by: Sanaa

Category: Report and achivements

Published: 05 April 2026

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 On Palestinian Child’s Day, marked annually on April 5, Palestinian prisoners’ institutions- Commission of Detainees’ Affairs, Palestinian Prisoner’s Society and the Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association- publish a special report about Palestinian child detainees in the Israeli occupation’s prisons.

 Report in Arabic and English Below

#FreeThemAll
#StopTheExecutionLaw

 

Palestinian Child’s Day Highlights Escalating, Systematic Targeting of

Palestinian Children

Report by the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs, Addameer Prisoner Support and Human

Rights Association, and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society

 

April 5, 2026

 

Ramallah, occupied Palestine - Palestinian childhood has never been outside the scope of Israeli occupation policies; it has been at their core. The detention of children is not exceptional or incidental, but a longstanding, systematic policy—deeply embedded over decades—reflecting a clear intent to subjugate and control an entire generation through organized repression and domination. As of April 2026, there are 350 Palestinian children detained in the occupation’s prisons.

 

Tens of thousands of Palestinian children have experienced detention—staggering figures that expose the scale and continuity of this practice. Their testimonies point to a comprehensive system of violations, carried out under legal cover and enforced with excessive violence, in disregard of age and of international child rights conventions.

 

Since the outbreak of the genocide in Gaza in October 2023, occupation authorities have intensified widespread arrest campaigns across the occupied Palestinian territories. These campaigns continue to escalate, targeting all segments of Palestinian society—across cities, villages, and refugee camps—in the West Bank, including Jerusalem, as well as in the Gaza Strip. They unfold within a broader pattern of daily, terrorizing military raids and incursions into homes, streets, and military checkpoints, without distinction by age or social group, reflecting a comprehensive policy of control and sustained repression.

 

Within this context, the targeting of children stands out as one of the clearest manifestations. Palestinian childhood has entered a more acute phase of direct targeting, where detention remains a systematic, deliberate tool of pressure and control—not an exception, but an enduring policy.

 

Field data issued by Palestinian prisoners’ organizations and human rights institutions have revealed an unprecedented escalation in the arrest of children. More than 1700 cases of child detention have been documented in the West Bank, including Jerusalem, over a short period of time—an indication of the expanding scope and accelerating pace of this targeting.

 

In addition, dozens of children from the occupied Gaza Strip have been detained during the genocide, under extremely dangerous conditions that included grave violations and organized crimes, such as enforced disappearance, denial of family and lawyers’ visits, and the complete cut

 

off of any means of communication with the outside world—making it extremely difficult to determine the actual numbers or the fate of many of them.

 

These practices constitute a clear and direct violation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which prohibits the arbitrary detention of children and requires that detention be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest possible period, while ensuring humane treatment and respect for dignity. They also clearly violate Article 37, which prohibits torture and cruel or inhuman treatment, and guarantees the child’s right to maintain contact with their family and to access legal assistance. Moreover, these practices breach the principles of international humanitarian law, particularly the Geneva Conventions, which mandate special protection for children as civilians and prohibit any form of abuse or neglect against them.

 

The First Moments of Arrest

 

The first moment of arrest often begins with a violent and sudden attack, usually in the early pre- dawn hours, when occupation forces break into homes without any prior warning. Families wake to the sounds of explosions and doors blown open, accompanied by heavily-armed, often masked, soldiers, shouting and raiding every corner of the house, creating an atmosphere of fear and chaos—especially for children facing such a harsh experience. Children are forced awake from their sleep amid direct threats and a heavy military presence.

 

During the raid, the child and their family are informed of the arrest decision. In many cases, children—particularly those who are ill or injured—are denied access to their medication or necessary medical care, further exacerbating their health conditions.

 

Following this, children are taken out of their homes into military vehicles, where they are handcuffed and subjected to strict restraints on their movement. During transport—often involving passage through multiple checkpoints and military facilities—some are subjected to beatings or harsh treatment, in addition to being held for long hours without food or water.

 

In many cases, children are transferred while blindfolded, deepening their sense of fear and confusion and leaving severe psychological effects from the very first moments of detention. Cases of enforced disappearance of children from the occupied Gaza Strip have also been documented, amid a lack of any information regarding their whereabouts or conditions of detention.

 

Interrogation Rooms Under Genocide: A Systematic Policy of Retaliation Against Childhood

 

The interrogation phase is one of the harshest stages in the experience of child detention within occupation prisons, as it is conducted in an environment designed to break their will and extract confessions from them as part of a systematic and consistent policy. Children are held in conditions that lack even the most basic necessities of life and are subjected to prolonged hours of continuous interrogation without the presence of their parents or a lawyer. Testimonies indicate that this stage is often exploited to psychologically intimidate the child and pressure them into confessing under the weight of isolation and fear.

 

The severity of these violations has escalated dangerously in the context of the genocide, as children have been subjected to even more tragic conditions inside closed and harsh interrogation rooms, where deprivation of sleep and rest is intensified.

 

These practices reinforce a reality that completely disregards the specific needs of the child and their right to humane treatment, turning interrogation into a repressive tool that extends beyond pre-genocide practices, but under far more brutal and unrestrained conditions.

 

Thus, the interrogation period—supposed to be a legal procedure—turns into a space of systematic violations aimed at undermining the rights of the child. This policy, which has intensified under the genocide, leaves deep and lasting impacts on children’s lives and futures as a result of continuous pressure and a detention environment that lacks the most basic human rights.

 

Palestinian Children in Occupation Prisons Face Systematic Violations

 

Inside Israeli central prisons and military camps, Palestinian children face harsh detention conditions that constitute a systematic violation of their fundamental rights. These conditions include severe overcrowding in poorly ventilated rooms, shortages of clothing and blankets, as well as near-total restrictions on their movement and the confiscation of their personal belongings.

 

For over two and a half years, children have been completely denied contact with their families, further deepening their isolation and intensifying the psychological impact of detention, amid ongoing raids and repression within the prison sections.

 

Violations linked to denial of medical care are also escalating amid a severe lack of health services and the denial of appropriate treatment for children. Overcrowding and the lack of hygiene supplies have led to the spread of skin diseases, most notably scabies, while medical responses are often limited to providing inadequate painkillers or delaying treatment, along with the refusal to transfer serious cases to hospitals.

 

Children also suffer from food deprivation as part of a policy of starvation, which has negatively affected their health and led to the worsening or emergence of new illnesses, within detention conditions that threaten both their physical and psychological well-being.

 

Detention Without Charge: Enforced Disappearance of Children Behind the Cells of Administrative Detention

 

Administrative detention of Palestinian children is considered one of the most egregious manifestations of the repressive system, whereby a child – like adults - is held without charge or trial, based on what is referred to as a “secret file.” This policy, long adopted by the occupation as a tool of collective punishment, repression, and control, has undergone a profound shift and historic escalation in the context of the genocide, as prison doors have been opened to thousands of Palestinians under this designation—children among them bearing a significant share of this systematic abuse.

 

Within this expansion, the number of children held under administrative detention has reached unprecedented levels. Palestinian human rights organizations have never previously recorded such figures, with approximately 180 children currently held under administrative detention—reflecting a clear intent to disappear an entire generation behind bars without any legal justification or defined timeline for release.

 

A child held under administrative detention lives in a state of continuous psychological torment, facing uncertainty every minute of every day. Detention orders are often renewed at the very last moment before the expected release, depriving both the child and their family of any sense of stability or hope. In the context of the genocide, the number of administrative detainees has surged dramatically, accompanied by total isolation and denial of visits or communication with the outside world—leaving children especially vulnerable to policies of starvation, abuse, and intimidation within the cells.

 

The targeting of children through administrative detention at this scale confirms that the occupation is in clear violation of all international conventions prohibiting the detention of minors without trial. With the total number of administrative detainees in prisons reaching 3442 it becomes evident that this policy has become a central pillar within the genocide—aimed at dismantling the Palestinian social fabric and targeting childhood itself.

 

Walid Ahmad: The Palestinian Child Who Starved to Death

 

Walid Khaled Ahmad, from the town of Silwad near Ramallah in the central occupied West Bank, was a detained Palestinian child who starved to death in Megiddo Prison in March 2025.

 

His case constitutes a stark example of inhumane and dangerous policies of starvation, deprivation, and ill-treatment against minor detainees, within a broader context of violations affecting prisoners. According to documented medical autopsy reports, the findings revealed severe physical deterioration, including extreme emaciation, and the absence of muscle mass and subcutaneous fat, along with indicators of malnutrition, dehydration, intestinal infections, and infection with scabies—reflecting a gradual health collapse inside detention.

 

The occupation recently announced the closure of the investigation into the circumstances of his murder under the pretext of “exhausting all legal procedures,” despite the serious findings outlined in the medical reports of starvation and health deterioration. This reflects a continued pattern of disregarding medical evidence and obscuring accountability for crimes committed against child detainees within prisons, in the complete absence of oversight and accountability for such violations.

 

Testimonies of Children from Inside Occupation Prisons

 

Child (Q.N.), who was arrested from his home on January 7, 2026, recounts that he was severely beaten before being handcuffed, blindfolded, and transferred to a military camp, then to Megiddo Prison. He reports repeated assaults both during transport and inside the prison.

 

He confirms that the minors’ section in prison is subjected to frequent raids and beatings, amid severe cold, overcrowding, and a shortage of clothing and insufficient food. They also face restrictions on outdoor time (“fora”) and access to showers, along with a lack of basic supplies and constant disturbing lighting. He further points to the absence of adequate care and the existence of designated rooms for scabies patients under harsh detention conditions.

 

In the same context, child (M.S.), who was arrested from his home in Bethlehem on February 19, 2025, at the age of just 15, was later placed under arbitrary administrative detention without trial or charge. He recounts that his arrest began at dawn with a home raid, after which he was transferred to Etzion detention center, then to Al-Moskobiya detention center in occupied Jerusalem, where he underwent a 21-day period of detention and interrogation before being transferred to Megiddo Prison.

 

Since then, he has been held in an overcrowded minors’ section (Section 8), with six to 10 prisoners per room, forcing some to sleep on the floor. There is a clear shortage of blankets, towels, and basic necessities, in addition to a very short daily outdoor period that does not exceed half an hour, with limited facilities including a small number of bathrooms shared among several rooms.

 

He also suffers from dental pain without receiving treatment, pain relief, or referral to a clinic, amid repeated raids and acts of repression within the section—making the conditions of detention in Megiddo harsh and ongoing, particularly as he is a child held under administrative detention.

 

Similarly, the detained child (A.K.), aged 17, describes a harsh detention trajectory from the moment of arrest, extending from checkpoints to detention centers and then to closed facilities.

 

He states: “I was completely stripped of my clothes, handcuffed, blindfolded, and thrown onto the ground,” adding, “I remained sitting on my knees for hours and was subjected to continuous severe beatings.”

 

He describes this phase as filled with humiliation and both physical and psychological violence, with repeated transfers between unknown detention locations and extremely harsh conditions from the very first hours.

 

Later, he recounts the brutal detention system inside the prisons, describing his first days: “I was handcuffed to the front and blindfolded 24 hours a day, even while eating and showering,” along with “very poor food in extremely small quantities” and repeated deprivation of hygiene and rest. He also describes weekly repressive raids involving “firing bombs inside the rooms, random beatings, and forcing prisoners to lie on the ground,” in addition to harsh interrogations that included “beatings, threats, electric shocks, and loud music as psychological torture,” within an environment he describes as based on continuous humiliation and systematic violence throughout detention.

 

Children from the occupied Gaza Strip have not been spared from widespread arrest campaigns during the genocide. Several were detained and transferred to military detention facilities. Among these testimonies is that of child (F.Sh.), born in 2010, who was a school student prior to his arrest.

 

He recounts being arrested in Khan Younis alongside four others, stating: “They arrested me with four people, and I was the only child among them. Then they handed us over to the army, which transferred us to Sde Teiman camp.” He adds that he was placed in barracks with adult detainees and another child, describing life there as “pure humiliation,” noting that he remained for approximately 40 days “handcuffed in front with iron restraints, without blindfolds.”

 

He describes daily life inside the camp, stating that “food is scarce and water is scarce,” with meals consisting of “sliced toast bread with a small amount of jam or tuna that does not satisfy hunger.” Sleeping conditions were extremely harsh: “You sleep on a very thin mattress, as if you are lying on stones,” while blankets were only provided at night despite severe daytime cold. Showering was permitted “twice a day for only a few minutes.”

 

He further recounts that raids and repression occurred “about once a week,” during which detainees were forced to the ground, restrained tightly, and beaten. He states that he was interrogated twice, each session lasting about an hour, noting: “There was no special treatment for me—they treated me like the adults.” He remained in Sde Teiman until his eventual release.

 

With the continuation of grave violations against Palestinian children in places of detention, coinciding with Palestinian Child’s Day, our organizations affirm that the arbitrary detention of children, the harsh conditions of confinement, and degrading treatment constitute a flagrant violation of international law—particularly the Convention on the Rights of the Child—and amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.

 

We stress that our primary demand is the immediate and unconditional release of all detained Palestinian children, as their detention in itself constitutes an unlawful violation. We further call on third states to take urgent action to compel the occupying power to halt all violations against children, ensure their protection, and respect and implement the advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice regarding the illegality of the occupation, in addition to enforcing accountability for all crimes committed against Palestinian children.

 

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Written by: Sanaa

Category: Report and achivements

Published: 08 March 2026

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International Women’s Day: 72 Palestinian Female Political Detainees in Israeli Occupation Prisons Face Abuse, Severe Violations

 

Report by Commission of Detainees’ Affairs, the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society, and the Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association.

March 8, 2026

“The raids happen like this: they storm the rooms one by one, force us to lie face down, walk over us, tie our hands behind our backs, then drag us one by one to the yard while pulling our shoulders backward as they lift us from the ground, causing severe pain. Some prisoners su>ered fractures. In one raid I was tied and lying on the ground; they told me to stand but I couldn’t, so they violently pulled me up by my shoulder from behind. The pain lasted for a long time […]

“One prisoner had her shoulder dislocated while being dragged violently while lying on the ground. Another was dragged in a brutal way that exposed her back and hair in front of the guards, and her knee was displaced; she suffered from pain for months and they refused to take her to the clinic. Another prisoner was beaten on her back and stomach.” – (D.B.), a female Palestinian political prisoner currently held by the Israeli occupation.

Ramallah, occupied Palestine – International Women’s Day, observed annually on March 8, is an occasion to celebrate the achievements of women and their struggles for justice and equality. In occupied Palestine however, this occasion arrives burdened with a different reality; Palestinian women live under a severely oppressive system of Israeli occupation, where the symbolism of this day is intertwined with loss, oppression, deprivation, and suffering.

In this new report, the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs, the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS), and the Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association—present key data related to the reality of incarcerated Palestinian women and the accompanying crimes and violations. The report includes several testimonies from Palestinian female prisoners gathered through lawyers of our organizations, and presents the worsening detention conditions for detained women following the start of the genocide in occupied Gaza.

Among the main ways the Israeli occupation targets Palestinian society is through its women. For decades, Palestinian women of all ages have been subjected to arrest, ill- treatment, torture, and the denial of their most basic rights. What Palestinian women experience today—including women prisoners in Israeli occupation prisons—represents a continuation of long-standing policies of suppression and erasure. However, since the occupation’s genocide in the occupied Gaza Strip, matters have become unprecedentedly difficult for all Palestinians, including women, one of the most vulnerable segments of society.

The scale and severity of violations and crimes against Palestinian women have surpassed all past violence. This has coincided with a significant escalation in mass arrests across occupied Palestine, alongside a noticeable rise in the number of women imprisoned, and worsening conditions of their detention. These conditions fall within a system of systematic torture that begins from the moment of arrest and continues through interrogation and imprisonment. The occupation’s prisons have turned into arenas for torture and the systematic destruction of male and female prisoners, and one of the fields in which the crime of genocide is being carried out.

More than 700 Palestinian women have been arrested since the start of the genocide. Women and girls arrested include university students, activists, housewives, and women with no direct political involvement. These arrests cannot be viewed in isolation from a wider policy that targets the Palestinian family and social structure, within an approach based on collective punishment and abuse.

The arrests of women from occupied Gaza following the genocide have also become one of the most prominent issues, due to the serious violations they faced and the humiliation of their human dignity, in addition to the crime of enforced disappearance that affected dozens of them at the beginning of the genocide. Prisoner institutions later managed to determine the fate of many of these women and secure their release, while to this day there is no available data indicating that women from occupied Gaza remain in detention.

The majority of female prisoners who were arrested were subjected to physical and psychological abuse accompanying the moment of arrest, whether they were arrested from their homes after raids or while passing through military checkpoints.

Countless testimonies over the past two years show that sexual violence has been among the prominent violations experienced by Palestinian women during detention, including harassment, strip searches, and threats of rape. The United Nations has also stated in an official announcement that there are credible reports indicating that detainees from Gaza were subjected to sexual violence, including rape. Prisoner groups have documented testimonies from women who were released and others still in prison who reported humiliating practices, foremost among them the widespread use of strip searches.

Latest Statistics on Palestinian Female Political Prisoners

As of March 2026, Israeli occupation authorities are currently imprisoning 72 Palestinian women, most of them held in Damon Prison in the country’s north. Among them are three minors and 32 mothers, who collectively have 130 children.

Additionally, 17 women are held under administrative detention without trial or charge, while five female prisoners are serving varying sentences - the longest being 16 years.

There are also 50 women awaiting trial, including 16 who are detained on charges related to what the occupation refers to as “incitement,” with estimates that the actual number may be higher.

There is one female prisoner previously wounded by Israeli occupation forces, and 18 sick female prisoners, including three women suffering from cancer, in addition to 12 female university students and three female school students.

Geographically, the majority were arrested from the occupied West Bank and occupied Jerusalem (69 female prisoners), alongside three female prisoners from the 1948-occupied territories.

Anonymized Testimonies of Palestinian Female Political Prisoners

1.  Prisoner (D.B.):

“The suppression forces would raid the rooms accompanied by the ‘Yamaz’ unit and dogs. In one raid, a dog was brought into my room with a soldier holding it. It was only about a meter away from me, which was terrifying—especially for the younger prisoners who began trembling.

“The raids happen like this: they storm the rooms one by one, force us to lie face down, walk over us, tie our hands behind our backs, then drag us one by one to the yard while pulling our shoulders backward as they lift us from the ground, causing severe pain. Some prisoners su>ered fractures. In one raid I was tied and lying on the ground; they told me to stand but I couldn’t, so they violently pulled me up by my shoulder from behind. The pain lasted for a long time.”

She continued:

“One prisoner had her shoulder dislocated while being dragged violently while lying on the ground. Another was dragged in a brutal way that exposed her back and hair in front of the guards, and her knee was displaced; she suffered from pain for months and they refused to take her to the clinic. Another prisoner was beaten on her back and stomach.”

 

“After dragging the prisoners, some of us were taken for strip searches in the bathroom, while others were taken directly to the yard. We were forced to remain kneeling or lying on our stomachs for between half an hour and an hour until the searches were finished.

Sometimes they would walk over us. Any prisoner who tried to change her position was beaten. I personally was beaten with kicks and hands. Once the prison director beat me when I tried to relieve the pressure on my body and said: ‘You are not in your home.’ In one raid we remained on our stomachs for nearly an hour while guards and special units walked over us and filmed videos. The pretext was ‘searching the rooms.’”

2.  Prisoner (R.R.):

“They took me from the outdoor yard to a small room. A female soldier carried out a strip search. She lifted my arms and grabbed and examined my chest. She ordered me to stand and sit twice while I was naked. Then she gave me underwear and a prison pajama uniform to wear and handed me a head covering, while throwing my clothes in the trash. After that they handcuffed my hands behind my back and shackled my legs. They did not put a blindfold on me. Then a very tall soldier came, grabbed my left arm from behind, and walked me while repeatedly hitting my left shoulder with his elbow along the way. My arm became swollen and the blows were strong. I don’t know how many times he hit me, but the next day my arm was swollen. When they saw it during interrogation they were alarmed and said they would take me to the clinic, but they never did.”

She also described the conditions of her interrogation cell:

“The soldier placed me in a very small cell, about one meter by one meter. I couldn’t fully stretch my legs inside it. When I slept, my head was near the toilet seat. The walls were rough and gray. The cell had only a toilet seat, a sink, and a floor—no mattress, blanket, or pillow. There was toilet paper and drinking water only from the sink. They took my hijab and left me only with the head cover beneath it. The cell was full of bugs, and I developed a fungal infection inside it. I stayed there until the next morning. Around eight in the morning, a guard took me to the interrogation room.”

She added regarding the interrogation period:

“They entered my cell frequently. Two female soldiers would come in with other guards standing outside, and suddenly they would conduct a strip search. They would order me to remove all my clothes. The searches were humiliating.”

 

3.  Prisoner (M.M.):

Here we refer to the case of the prisoner (M.M.), who was abducted as a hostage to pressure her father, who is detained in Israeli occupation prisons. During her arrest and interrogation, she was subjected to abuse, assaults, and humiliation.

“When I was arrested, the soldiers started asking me in the military jeep, ‘Where do you want to go? Which prison?’ I told them, ‘Asqalan.’ They started laughing at me and said: ‘So you want to go where your father is.’”

“From the first day I entered the Asqalan (Ashkelon) interrogation center, they began interrogating me. I was interrogated continuously for 18 days, every day in several sessions, each session lasting three or four hours. They would take me into interrogation about three times a day. Each time there was one interrogator and one female soldier. The interrogation consisted of continuous questioning. They would leave to rest for two or three hours. I was unable to sleep throughout the interrogation, which lasted 27 days.”

She added:

“After 27 days they transferred me to Damon Prison. I was transferred by the Nahshon unit, and they pushed me a lot during the transfer. They moved me in prison transport vehicles (‘bosta’). I was taken through more than one prison whose names I don’t know before arriving at Damon, but I arrived there on the same day.”

She continued in her testimony:

“On the 18th day of interrogation, when I was about to finish interrogation, an interrogator came and said: ‘We’ll let you see your father.’ Then they took me to an interrogation room where my father was sitting on an interrogation chair like school chairs, with his hands tied behind him. When I entered, it seemed he knew I was coming and was prepared for it; he was looking toward the door. When I entered, they removed the cover from my eyes, and my hands were tied in front of me. My father started crying a lot when he saw me. I ran toward him and hugged him while I was still tied up. He kept kissing me and saying reassuring words to comfort me. Then they seated me on a regular chair while my hands were still tied in front. He looked extremely exhausted. There were about twelve interrogators in the room, including only one female interrogator.”

 

This testimony is one of dozens from women who were arrested as hostages to pressure members of their families.

4.   Prisoner (H.B.):

“I was transferred to Hasharon Prison. When I arrived, a female soldier received me, and as I climbed a long staircase she kept insulting and pushing me. She took me to a small, filthy solitary cell that had nothing but a mattress on the floor without a blanket or pillow and a very small bathroom. I stayed there alone for four days without anyone speaking to me.

They brought me cold, bad food, and during those four days I didn’t eat and threw the food away. The weather was extremely cold, and when I asked for a blanket they refused and told me it was forbidden. The mattress cover was made of cold plastic.”

 

This testimony is one of dozens describing similar experiences of women detained in Hasharon Prison.

 

 

5.   Prisoner (L.Y.):

 

“When I arrived at Damon, they stripped me of all my clothes and threw them in the trash, including my jilbab and jacket. They gave me a prison uniform and only two pieces of underwear. I was subjected to a strip search and then taken down to the prison section wearing the prison uniform (shirt and trousers). It was psychologically very painful for me.”

 

Prominent Policies of Abuse, Humiliation and Violence Against Palestinian Women During Arrest and Detention

Palestinian women face systematic abuse, humiliation, and violence throughout the process of arrest and detention. Arrests often begin with violent night or dawn raids on homes, during which Israeli occupation forces break or blow up doors, spread throughout the house, destroy and cause deliberate vandalism of belongings and furniture, and shout threats while holding residents at gunpoint. Women are frequently taken from their homes in front of their families. In other cases, arrests occur at military checkpoints, where women may be detained for hours under the sun or in the cold before being subjected to detailed and humiliating searches.

Testimonies indicate that women were pushed, beaten, and violently removed from vehicles. Detainees have also reported being blindfolded and having their hands tied behind their backs for extended periods, while being insulted and threatened. Abuse can continue during transportation in military vehicles, where women are forced to remain in painful positions and denied access to toilets for long periods.

A long-standing practice has been the arrest of women as hostages to pressure male relatives, a policy that has become particularly visible in the period since the start of the Gaza genocide. In these cases, women are detained not because they are the primary targets but to force a family member to surrender, or as a form of revenge. Dozens of women—including wives of prisoners, wives of those killed, mothers, and even elderly women—have been arrested for this purpose. These arrests are often accompanied by psychological pressure and threats, including threats to kill or harm the targeted relative. Raids frequently involve the destruction of homes, theft of large amounts of money and jewelry, and the terrorizing of children, reflecting a broader pattern of collective punishment against entire families. Many of the women arrested come from families that have already endured years of repeated raids, arrests, imprisonment, and killings.

 

Another major phenomenon has been the sharp rise in arrests of women on charges of “incitement,” under Israeli occupation military laws, particularly related to social media activity. Since the genocide, Israeli occupation authorities have expanded the

interpretation of “incitement” to include posts, reposts, personal expressions, or even interactions with online content. As a result, the digital sphere has effectively become a space for surveillance and prosecution, where any online activity can be grounds for arrest regardless of context. Many women detained since the Gaza genocide—including journalists, activists, university students, human rights defenders, and relatives of prisoners or those killed—have faced such charges. This expansion has significantly restricted freedom of expression and placed Palestinian women under constant monitoring.

Inside Israeli occupation prisons, particularly Damon Prison, women detainees report an unprecedented level of repression and abuse during the ongoing war. Their ordeal typically begins with interrogation and temporary detention in Hasharon Prison before being transferred to Damon, the main facility holding Palestinian female political prisoners.

Testimonies describe Damon Prison as a site where torture, starvation, humiliation, and degrading treatment are widespread. Prisoners have reported confiscation of personal belongings, severe overcrowding due to mass arrest campaigns, and practices such as arbitrary and excessive strip searches, harassment, and other forms of sexual abuse.

During certain periods since the genocide began, the number of female prisoners has exceeded 100 women and girls, further worsening already harsh conditions.

Female prisoners have also faced systematic denial of adequate amounts of food, like all Palestinian political prisoners. Meals provided by the prison administration are minimal, often cold and of poor quality, and insufficient to meet basic daily needs, directly affecting prisoners’ health and immunity. Basic necessities have also been used as tools of humiliation, including limiting access to sanitary pads and hygiene supplies. Prisoners have been deprived of enough clothing and adequate blankets, and many have been denied medical care. Current data indicates that three women prisoners suffering from cancer remain detained, including one charged with “incitement,” one held under administrative detention without trial or charge, and another awaiting trial.

Isolation has intensified since the start of the genocide. Women prisoners, like all detainees, have been denied family visits for two and a half years, as well as visits from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), leaving lawyers’ visits as the only remaining channel of communication with the outside world, with even those severely restricted. This isolation has significantly increased the psychological pressure on female detainees, particularly as many are mothers and have been denied any contact with their children.

Hasharon Prison, which serves as a temporary detention station before transfer to Damon, has also been described as a place of humiliation and intimidation. Testimonies collected show prisoners are held in filthy cells unfit for human habitation, provided with extremely small amounts of inedible food, and forced to sleep on thin, dirty mattresses. Degrading strip searches are frequently conducted, and several women reported being beaten after refusing to comply with these procedures.

In addition to daily hardship, women prisoners have been subjected to frequent physical assault and raids by occupation prison forces. These raids, sometimes carried out with police dogs often involve beatings, strip searches, stun grenades, and tear gas. Female prisoners’ remaining personal belongings are confiscated during these operations. Some women have been placed in solitary confinement as punishment after such raids, while others have been prevented from leaving their cells for the prison yard. In many cases, female prisoners were forced to sit in humiliating positions for long periods while being threatened and filmed.

Together, these practices illustrate severe policies of systematic abuse, maltreatment rising to the level of torture at times, and collective punishment directed at Palestinian women throughout the stages of arrest, interrogation, detention, and imprisonment.

In light of the above, there is an urgent need for serious international action that translates legal obligations into practical measures. This includes working to implement the advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice, which considered the occupation illegal, along with the obligations that arise from it to end it and not recognize its consequences.

It also requires working toward the unconditional release of all Palestinian political prisoners – including women - in a context where prisons have effectively become systems of torture and collective destruction, turning them into one of the arenas of the ongoing crime of genocide.

 

 

 

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Written by: Sanaa

Category: Report and achivements

Published: 05 February 2026

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? Update on the Number of Political Prisoners in Israeli Occupation Prisons – February 2026
* These figures are based on information provided by prisoners’ institutions and on what was announced by the Israeli occupation’s Prison Service up to February 2026.
* The number of Palestinian political prisoners and detainees held in Israeli occupation prisons exceeded 9,300 people, as of the start of February 2026.
* Among them are 56 female prisoners, including two girls.
* The number of imprisoned children stands at 350 children, held by the occupation in Megiddo and Ofer prisons.
* The number of administrative detainees held without trial or charge has reached 3,358 people, the highest proportion among prisoners who are sentenced, detained, or classified as “unlawful combatants.”
* The number of detainees classified by the occupation as “unlawful combatants” held without trial or charge is 1,249 people. This figure does not include all Gaza detainees held in camps run by the occupation army and classified under this category. It is also noted that this classification includes Arab detainees from Lebanon and Syria.

Palestinian Prisoners’ Institutions

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Written by: المشرف العام

Category: Report and achivements

Published: 25 December 2025

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? The Hidden Genocide: Thousands of Palestinian Political Prisoners Suffer Severe Crimes and Extermination Behind Bars - December 2025 Briefing

? Commission of Detainees’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society

December 25, 2025

Ramallah, occupied Palestine – The Commission of Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS) have released a new briefing on the detention conditions for the more than 9,300 Palestinian political prisoners held in the Israeli occupation’s prisons and military camps, covering the month of December 2025.

The Israeli occupation’s prison system and military continues to systematically destroy Palestinian prisoners both physically and psychologically, using methods and policies that have become unprecedented in scale since the start of the genocide in occupied Gaza. The war crimes and crimes against humanity being committed against prisoners constitutes an inseparable part of the genocide as well the ongoing violent colonial erasure of the Palestinian people across all Palestinian geographies.

Lawyers of the Commission and the PPS conducted dozens of visits to Palestinian prisoners in December 2025, specifically to the Ofer, Naqab (Negev), Megiddo, Ramla Clinic, Rakevet Underground Section, Shatta, Gilboa and Janot central prisons, as well as several military camps where detainees are held including Sde Teiman and Gilad, and finally Damon prison where all female detainees are held.

Testimonies gathered and highlighted in this report show a continued severe decline in prison detention conditions, and an escalation in brutal assaults by special prison forces units. This comes alongside systematic starvation, the denial of medical treatment and healthcare, and the continuation of policies of deprivation of the most basic necessities of humane life. The occupation’s policies are aimed at violating prisoners’ human dignity through humiliation and abuse, carried out instantaneously and around the clock.

Full report in English below??

To download the file click here

Details

Written by: Sanaa

Category: Report and achivements

Published: 16 December 2025

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⭕️ UPDATE: Palestinian Political Prisoners in Israeli Occupation’s Custody – December 2025

December 16, 2025

These figures are based on information from Palestinian prisoners’ institutions and the Israeli occupation’s prison service up to December 2025.

??There are some 9,300 Palestinian political prisoners and detainees in the Israeli occupation’s prisons, the majority of whom are held without trial or charge, or are awaiting trial and have not yet been charged. This figure does not include detainees held in military camps run by the Israeli occupation army.

??Only 1, 254 of them have so far been sentenced by the occupation's military system according to the prison services.

??Among them are 51 Palestinian female prisoners, including two minors, held in Damon prison.

?? 350 of them are Palestinian children held in the occupation’s Ofer and Megiddo prisons.

?? Palestinians held without trial or charge: Some 4,570 people - or almost HALF of all detainees - including:
- At least 3,350 Palestinians arrested from the occupied West Bank classified as “administrative detainees”.
- At least 1,220 Palestinians arrested from occupied Gaza classified as “unlawful combatants”. This figure does not include all detainees abducted from Gaza, held under this category, in military camps run by the Israeli occupation army. This category also includes Arab political detainees from Lebanon and Syria.

The Palestinian Commission of Detainees’ Affairs, the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society, and Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association