⭕ *Palestinian Prisoner’s Society: Current and Former Detainees Suffering Diseases, Severe Health Setbacks Due to Detention Conditions, Systematic Violations*  

 

September 23, 2025

 

Ramallah, occupied Palestine – The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society said the Israeli occupation’s prison system continues its policies and medical crimes against Palestinian political prisoners with the goal of killing them physically and psychologically, as part of the broader process of slow murder that has led to the martyrdom of dozens of detainees since the start of the genocide in Gaza. 

 

In a statement issued Tuesday, September 23, the PPS explained that through legal visits to prisoners, as well as by following up on the cases of released prisoners, it has become evident that the number of individuals suffering from chronic physical and psychological illnesses behind bars is rising at an unprecedented rate. The vast majority of those visited suffer from at least one health issue—this applies to released prisoners as well.

 

The PPS added that the ongoing spread of diseases and epidemics among prisoners reflects the extent of the health catastrophe engineered by the occupation’s prison system to cause further deaths. In addition to the continued spread of scabies skin disease, which has infected thousands, many other diseases have appeared without a clear diagnosis. Some former prisoners have been transferred to hospitals immediately upon release, only to later be found suffering from chronic illnesses.

 

In this context, the PPS highlights the case of prisoner Mahmoud Talal Abdullah, from Jenin in the northern occupied West Bank, who has been detained since January 2025 and is currently experiencing a severe deterioration in his health. According to the testimony of a prisoner held at the Ramla Prison Clinic, the prison administration recently transferred Abdullah there while he was in a critically dangerous condition. Initial reports indicate he may be suffering from cancer.

 

Abdullah is a former detainee who was previously imprisoned during the Al-Aqsa Intifada in 2002 and spent two years in detention. Prior to his current arrest, he had existing health issues and was receiving treatment. Since his arrest this year, he has been moved between Megiddo, Gilboa, and finally Ramla prisons. A new court session is scheduled for him on September 29, 2025. He is married and a father of six children.

 

The PPS confirmed that it is closely following Abdullah’s case and has submitted a request to visit him in Ramla Prison to assess his health condition, in addition to taking the necessary legal measures to ensure his treatment.

 

Regarding released detainees, the PPS documented hundreds of cases in recent months that required urgent medical follow-up. Some were released in critical and life-threatening condition due to torture, denial of treatment, and deliberate starvation. Among the most prominent cases is that of former detainee Mahmoud Al-Wardiyan, from Bethlehem, who was found to be suffering from brain damage and visible signs of torture on his body after release, and remains in a coma in hospital.

 

Most recently, the occupation authorities released Murad Obeid, 30, from Tubas, after 16 months of detention in Megiddo Prison, in a severely deteriorated health condition. Just hours after his release, it was revealed he was suffering from severe pneumonia that had caused oxygen levels to drop, along with acute weight loss, as his body weight had dropped to 45 kilograms due to starvation. He was transferred to intensive care, where he continues to receive treatment.

 

The PPS that the systematic medical crimes practiced by the occupation remain among the most egregious violations committed against prisoners—alongside a range of other abuses carried out over decades—employing new tools and methods to kill more detainees. These crimes have escalated to unprecedented levels since the start of the genocide and the resulting drastic changes in detention conditions.

 

The PPS renews its call to the United Nations to open an independent international investigation into the systematic crimes committed against prisoners and detainees in Israeli prisons, and to restore its intended role by taking responsibility for what is happening, especially in light of the ongoing genocide in Gaza and the comprehensive assault on various parts of the Palestinian territories.

 

*Palestinian Prisoner’s Society*