Sign for the Rights of Palestinian Prisoners

Israeli prisons hold around 4,900 political prisoners and 1,016 administrative detainees. In these prisons, there are not only men, but also around 160 children and 30 women in detention, according to data provided by the Addameer Association.

The Israeli authorities use different forms of torture to break the will of Palestinian prisoners, and the most common method is solitary confinement. This system consists of the total isolation of prisoners, with no possibility of receiving family visits or interacting with other prisoners, as they are taken out to the yard alone and in handcuffs. People subjected to this type of torture suffer severe mental health problems due to the trauma they endure. The longest-serving prisoner to have been held in solitary confinement is Muhammad Khaleel, who spent 15 years in isolation.

Another torture method used by the Israeli authorities is collective punishment. In 2021, six Palestinian prisoners escaped, and when they were recaptured they were subjected to torture and their conditions worsened. These punishments were not only suffered by the prisoners who had managed to escape, but also by the entire Palestinian prison population. More than 350 Palestinians were forcibly transferred to unknown prisons across Israel.

Israel uses administrative detention, in violation of Article 9.2 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. This model consists of detaining Palestinian prisoners who face no administrative charges.

Conditions in Israeli prisons are poor, as a large number of prisoners can be found in the same cell, or they may be held in deplorable conditions. Prisoners’ lives are a constant humiliation due to the treatment they suffer at the hands of the Israeli authorities (beatings, extortion, humiliation, etc.). In addition, hygiene for prisoners and in cells is inadequate, becoming so extreme that, in some prisons, prisoners are only taken out of their cells once a day and must endure the rest of the day inside.

Sign with us to put an end to the suffering of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons.