Detainee Zikra Nasser: Repression at Damon Prison continues and intensifies , and we live in constant deprivation of our most basic human rights

September 21, 2026

Female detainee Zikra Raafat Saeed Nasser, 23, is suffering from scabies due to the difficult health conditions in prison. She was arrested on February 9, 2026, and is from Deir Sharaf, near Nablus.

Detainee Zikra, who is being held at Damon Prison, has not received any treatment either for scabies or for urinary tract infections, which she has been suffering from since her arrest and as a result of being held in inhumane living conditions.

The Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs said in a report issued today, Monday, following a visit by one of its lawyers to the detainee, that Israeli army forces raided her father’s home at around 1:30 a.m. and arrested her after subjecting her to a strip search. “They prevented me from changing my clothes or saying goodbye to my family, and they photographed me with their mobile phones,” she said.

She was subjected to insults and shouting during her arrest. The soldiers threw her onto the floor of the military jeep, where she was prevented from moving until around 7:00 a.m. Whenever she moved, she was severely beaten on her back.

“Later, I was taken to the Qaddumim area, where they placed me on the ground next to the dirt. They took pictures next to me while laughing and mocking me, and severely beat me on the head and face, causing me severe pain. After that, I was transferred to the Russian Compound (Moscobiya), where I was kept blindfolded and shackled from the afternoon until 9:00 p.m.”

At the Moscobiya detention center, the detainee was also subjected to a strip search. Female soldiers confiscated her prayer clothes and headscarf and photographed her. She remained there for 17 days, describing the facility as “a slaughterhouse.”

She said: “The cells resemble graves. The bed is made of concrete with a thin plastic mattress and no cover. They gave us two very light blankets. Despite the cold weather and the cold conditions inside, they turned on the air conditioner over our heads in February. There was no source of lighting. The food was very bad, and the conditions were unfit for human habitation.”

“On the 18th day of my detention, I was transferred to Ramle. It was one of the worst days of my life. The weather was extremely rainy, and they placed us in an outdoor waiting room where the winds were very strong. I was fasting for Ramadan. The following day, I was transferred to Damon Prison, where I have remained until today. There, I was subjected to a strip search for the third time.”

There are currently around 81 female detainees at Damon, excluding those being held in interrogation.

The detainee described the detention conditions at Damon as “very bad.” She said the food is insufficient and of poor quality, while the recreation period is very short.

“We are allowed to shower and clean the room during this period, which takes place in the early morning hours, around 5:30 a.m. During recreation, we are prohibited from speaking. There is severe overcrowding in the rooms, and several detainees sleep on the floor in each room.”

The female detainees have been subjected to repeated repression since Zikra’s arrest. The first incident took place on March 5, 2026, and was particularly severe. At around 6:00 a.m., the detainees were taken to the yard after being shackled and blindfolded.

The second incident occurred on Palestinian Prisoners’ Day, April 17, 2026, when the detainees were beaten and subjected to physical abuse. As a result of the beating, the detainee suffered a tear in a tendon in her left hand.

Two days later, the female detainees were subjected to another raid. The detainee said: “In March, we were subjected to four raids, and in April, we were subjected to 11 raids.”

She described the incident on May 13, 2026, as the worst, saying it took place in the early hours of the morning and involved severe beatings and extremely abusive and degrading verbal harassment.

On May 5, 2026, “we were raided in cold, rainy weather. We were taken out of our rooms after being shackled and blindfolded and placed in the recreation yard in the rain. They ransacked the rooms and confiscated food, clothes, dishes, and everything else in the rooms without any reason.”

The detainee also referred to Itamar Ben-Gvir’s visit to the female detainees’ section, specifically Rooms 3 and 8, saying that the treatment became worse after his visit.

Around 10 days before the visit, the detainee’s room was subjected to a raid. “They took us out of the room and placed us in a small room. There were 11 female detainees with us. They confiscated clothes and belongings, isolated several detainees, and later took them out.”