THE Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners Society have warned of a dangerous escalation in the systematic repression carried out by the Israeli Prison Service against Palestinian prisoners, including women and children.
In a joint statement issued on Saturday based on dozens of legal visits conducted during December 2025, the two institutions said that the Israeli prison system has witnessed an unprecedented escalation since the start of the genocidal war. No prisoner has been spared assaults that resulted in varying injuries, most of them fractures, particularly to the ribs.
Legal teams have documented numerous testimonies during the same month regarding systematic raids and assaults targeting prisoners in general, and women and children in particular, in a blatant violation of all humanitarian laws and norms.
In Damon prison, where around 50 female prisoners are held, detainees were subjected to a series of organised assaults inside their cells.
On December 5th, repression units stormed three rooms, sprayed tear gas, forced the women to lie on the ground, and assaulted them with beatings, while hurling insults and obscene language.
In another incident, at dawn on December 14th, repression forces stormed two rooms, handcuffed the women from behind, blindfolded them, and took them out into the yard in freezing cold, where they were forced to kneel with their heads lowered. The operation was filmed and accompanied by police dogs and the use of stun grenades, in addition to extensive vandalism inside the rooms. According to the women’s testimonies, the operation continued until the morning hours.
The female prisoners confirmed that their suffering worsens with the onset of winter, amid shortages of clothing and blankets, the absence of heating, the continuation of starvation policies, and deprivation of medical treatment and healthcare, especially for prisoners with chronic illnesses, including cancer. They also noted the use of basic necessities, foremost sanitary pads, as an additional means of humiliation.
In Ganot prison, a number of leaders of the prisoners’ movement are held in solitary confinement, including leader Ahmad Saadat. Saadat is suffering from scabies without receiving the necessary treatment and was subjected to physical assault during transfers between prisons, causing him severe back pain.
The statement noted that a number of imprisoned leaders have remained in solitary confinement for more than two years and are subjected to repeated torture and assaults that have resulted in multiple physical injuries.
In a related context, prisons, particularly Ganot, have recorded a marked escalation in repression operations following the completion of the latest prisoner exchange deal, with near-daily raids on sections and rooms, involving severe beatings, tear gas, rubber bullets, electric shock devices, and police dogs, often during the early morning hours or at midnight.
Testimonies from prisoners in Gilboa and Shatta prisons also reported a dangerous increase in the pace of repression, accompanied by violent physical assaults and the firing of gas inside cells, amid deteriorating health conditions, the spread of scabies and the continuation of starvation policies and denial of medical treatment. This has compounded prisoners’ suffering as the cold intensifies, turning it into yet another tool of torture.
- Life-sentence prisoners held in the Israeli Ganot (Nafha) prison have revealed harsh living conditions they are facing inside the prison, amid a systematic policy of neglect and abuse carried out by the prison administration.
The Asra Media Office reported, citing testimonies from inside the prison, that the prisoners are suffering from a severe deterioration in both the quality and quantity of food, which has negatively affected their health.
The Asra Media Office stressed that what is taking place inside Ganot (Nafha) prison constitutes a flagrant violation of international law and humanitarian conventions, calling on human rights organisations and relevant bodies to intervene urgently to stop these violations and hold Israel accountable for its crimes against prisoners.
In fact, the UK’s TUC must intervene in this crisis and call general strike actions to demand that all Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons and torture chambers must be released at once!
