Update on Conditions for Palestinian Political Prisoners

April 21, 2025
Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS)

Ramallah, Palestine - In light of the rapidly increasing killings of Palestinian political detainees in the Israeli occupation’s custody, the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society - based on recent visits to multiple prisons - highlights below key details about the reality and conditions for thousands of detainees held across central prisons, military detention camps and interrogation centers. 

In parallel with the ongoing genocide in Gaza over the past 19 months, the rate of killings of Palestinian detainees by the occupation’s prison system and the military, both directly and indirectly, is unprecedented. Since October 2023, 65 identified Palestinian political detainees have been killed in Israeli custody, including some in unfathomable ways. The reality inside prisons and military camps presents yet another facet of this horrific genocide. As time goes on, the likelihood of more deaths among Palestinian prisoners becomes an increasingly inevitable outcome.

Lawyers from the PPS conducted visits to multiple Israeli prisons, namely Ofer, Megiddo, Gilboa and Naqab. Every detainee interviewed was found to be suffering from at least one health problem as a result of the conditions they are in. These include severe hunger due to deliberate deprivation of adequate amounts of food and consistent deprivation of medical care. 

Scabies skin disease continues to widely infest the prisons and detainees, with testimonies reflecting that it is especially widespread in the Naqab and Megiddo prisons. During visitations, prisoners showed marks of infection on their bodies, including boils. They also suffered from extreme exhaustion and sleeplessness due to constant, severe itching and discomfort. Some prisoners who had previously recovered from the disease reported a recurrence, attributing it to the prison system’s continued denial of basic hygienic products, preventing an end to the disease. Among those who contracted the disease are detainees with chronic illnesses or injuries.

In Ofer prison, the majority of child detainees said they are experiencing itching and skin rashes, but have been refused a doctor’s diagnosis by prison authorities.

Prisoners’ testimonies also reflected a continued increase in physical assault by heavily-armed prison repression units, especially during early morning or nighttime hours. In every prison visited, detainees said that cell raids have become more frequent, often involving attacks by prison dogs. 

Some prisoners are deliberately singled out and beaten in front of others to instill fear in others. Among the reported cases are Mohammad Abu Al-Rub from Jenin and Khairy Ali from Nablus — both serving life sentences in Gilboa prison — who stated that they have been subjected to repeated, severe beatings and systematic humiliation since the beginning of the genocide.

The PPS stresses that the prison authorities are also using prisoners’ injuries as a tool of evil blackmail, torture and punishment by denying them medical care.

One wounded prisoner reported that the prison administration intentionally withholds treatment for his injuries, leading to severe deterioration in his health and unbearable pain.

Another wounded prisoner stated: "I had an injury in my eye and underwent a lens implant. About three weeks ago, during a raid on my cell, I sustained a new injury to the same eye after being attacked by a prison dog wearing a metal muzzle. Although I requested medical attention, the prison administration refused to transfer me to the clinic."