On Palestinian Women’s National Day

· Palestinian Prisoners’ Institutions: More Than 90 Palestinian Women Face a System of Organised and Systematic Crimes in Israeli Occupation Prisons

· Scabies Spreads Through Women’s Prison to Unprecedented Levels

· Majority of Women Held Over “Incitement” Charges Under Oppressive Military Laws

October 26, 2026

Ramallah, occupied Palestine — Israeli occupation authorities are incarcerating more than 90 Palestinian women, who face a system of organised and systematic crimes and severe violations inside prisons and interrogation centres, prisoners’ institutions said in a statement on Monday, on the occasion of Palestinian Women’s National Day, observed annually on October 26.

These abuses form part of an escalating campaign targeting Palestinian women, which has intensified to unprecedented levels since the onset of the genocide in the occupied Gaza Strip. The conditions endured by female prisoners represent one of the harshest manifestations of Israel’s system of repression. This system no longer consists solely of the deprivation of liberty; it extends to the dismantling of the basic conditions necessary for human life, assaults on the body and dignity, and the use of deprivation, torture and humiliation as instruments of punishment and control. The period following the onset of the genocide has brought profound changes to the conditions of women’s detention, with a sharp escalation in violations and an intensification of methods used to abuse and mistreat them.

According to testimonies provided by women prisoners and documented accounts, these crimes include physical and psychological torture, starvation, denial of medical treatment, and sexual assaults, including strip-searches and harassment documented by the institutions in several cases. They also include threats of rape, insults that degrade human dignity, and repeated violent raids and attacks, during which women prisoners are beaten and humiliated, and forced to lie on the floor with their hands tied behind their backs. According to their testimonies, psychological torture begins from the very first moments of arrest, forming part of an integrated system of intimidation designed to strip them of any sense of safety.

One of the most alarming manifestations of these conditions is the spread of scabies among female prisoners, compounded by harsh detention and environmental conditions and the denial of even the most basic personal hygiene supplies. The institutions explained that, amid persistent itching and pain and the denial of medical treatment, the disease has become a source of daily suffering, affecting sleep, movement and the ability to carry out even the simplest activities of everyday life. Testimonies further indicate that a number of female prisoners have experienced spasms in their limbs.

This suffering is exacerbated by the continued denial by prison authorities that the disease is spreading, their refusal to provide the necessary treatment, and their maintenance of the conditions that allow it to persist.

The institutions further emphasised that the abuses inflicted on Palestinian women cannot be separated from the ongoing genocide and aggression, nor from the use of detention as a means of collective punishment and pressure on families. Since the genocide started in October 2023, human rights organisations have documented more than 810 arrests of women in the West Bank and Jerusalem, and in the 1948-occupied territories. No accurate figures are available for the number of women arrested from the occupied Gaza Strip, apart from dozens whose detention at Damon Prison has been confirmed.

The longest-serving women among the 90 is is Shatila Abu Ayyada, from the 1948-occupied territories. The detainees include two female children and 22 women held under administrative detention orders – without trial or charge - as well as formerly released prisoners who have previously spent years in Israeli occupation prisons. Occupation authorities also continue to detain women suffering from illnesses, including cancer, alongside two pregnant women enduring exceptionally harsh detention conditions. Others have given birth in Israeli occupation hospitals while in detention and were subsequently released. One of these women recounted harrowing and degrading experiences endured before giving birth, during her hospital stay, and at the time of her release.

The institutions stressed that the policy of taking women hostage through detention has escalated alarmingly during the genocide, as a means of pressuring their family members to turn themselves in. Those targeted have included the wives of prisoners and those killed, as well as elderly mothers over the age of 70. These arrests have been accompanied by the destruction of homes, confiscation of property and the terrorisation of children. Women prisoners have also been threatened with the killing of their detained husbands or sons. Such practices target both the women and their families, extending the scope of punishment to encompass their wider social and familial circles.

In a related context, testimonies from female prisoners revealed harsh detention conditions at Hasharon Prison. These included filthy cells lacking even the most basic necessities of life, strip-searches, physical assaults when women refused to submit to them, rotten food and worn-out mattresses unfit for use. At Damon Prison, basic necessities, including sanitary pads and clothing, have been turned into instruments of deprivation and punishment. This is compounded by the denial of ventilation during the summer and heating during the winter, the prohibition of family visits, the continuation of collective isolation, and an escalation in the use of solitary confinement against women prisoners.

Particular attention must be drawn to the case of female journalist and prisoner Bushra al-Taweel, whom the occupation authorities have continued to hold in isolation at the Ohali Oz isolation facility for nearly two months. She has endured extremely harsh and degrading conditions and has been subjected to repeated assaults. The prison system has also sought to obstruct lawyers’ visits to her as an additional form of punishment. Despite legal efforts and demands for an end to her isolation and her immediate release, given that she is being held under administrative detention—an arbitrary form of detention—the occupation authorities continue to confine her in cruel and dire conditions, raising grave concerns for her life.

Repressive raids and crackdowns against women prisoners have escalated alarmingly, reaching unprecedented levels during 2026. These operations have involved the use of stun grenades, tear gas, pepper spray and police dogs; the shackling of women prisoners and forcing them to lie on the ground; and their humiliating dragging into prison yards, where they are subjected to beatings, strip-searches and forced into degrading positions. The operations are also filmed. Sexualised abuse—including physical harassment, strip-searches and threats of rape—constitutes some of the gravest violations documented by the institutions through testimonies from formerly detained women and those who remain in custody.

The majority of women prisoners have been detained on allegations of “incitement” as defined by the occupation authorities. These allegations include expressing opinions and political positions on social media. Others are held under administrative detention orders based on what is known as a “secret file”, without clear charges or a trial that would allow them to know and challenge the evidence against them. This reflects the expanding use of detention to criminalise freedom of opinion and expression, transforming it into an instrument of persecution and control.

The prisoners’ institutions emphasised that the targeting of Palestinian women cannot be separated from the broader targeting of Palestinian society as a whole. The treatment of women prisoners exposes a repressive system that attacks Palestinian human beings in their freedom, dignity and right to life.

On Palestinian Women’s National Day, the issue of women prisoners cannot be reduced to the number of women detained or confined to the documentation of violations. At its heart lies the fundamental right of every woman to safety, freedom and dignity, the imperative of accountability for crimes committed against her, and the need to end the policies that allow such abuses to continue.

The prisoners’ institutions renewed their call on the international human rights system to move beyond condemnation and documentation towards concrete measures to ensure accountability and justice. These must include pursuing those responsible for war crimes and grave violations, adopting effective international measures to end impunity, ensuring protection for women prisoners and all Palestinian prisoners and detainees, dismantling the system of repression, torture and arbitrary detention, and restoring the international community’s essential role in protecting peoples and opposing genocide.

ENDS