Palestinian prisoners face ‘hunger, overcrowding and violence’, Israeli report finds
Palestinian prisoners in Israeli detention are suffering extreme hunger, overcrowding and systematic violence by prison staff, a report by Israel’s Public Defender’s Office has revealed.
Conditions have deteriorated sharply since October 2023, the report said, based on multiple visits to detention facilities in 2023 and 2024.
It found that the Israel Prison Service (IPS) introduced a separate, sparse menu for “security prisoners”, which is used to describe mostly Palestinian prisoners, leaving many malnourished.
Released prisoners told media outlets and rights groups that meals sometimes consisted of a tiny portion of undercooked rice shared between several inmates for an entire day, while others went days without food.
The report described the resulting hunger as “severe, manifested in extreme weight loss and associated physical symptoms, including extreme weakness and fainting”.
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During visits, representatives repeatedly observed signs of severe malnutrition and dehydration, with many inmates appearing dangerously thin.
Despite a Supreme Court ruling in September ordering the state to provide adequate food, conditions have reportedly not improved, with some prisoners claiming rations have even been reduced.
The report also highlighted widespread and systematic violence by prison staff.
Prisoners reported frequent cell searches accompanied by unnecessary physical abuse, and beatings during transfers between wings, when being brought to court appearances and other instances.
The Public Defender noted that the violence was not provoked by any specific events requiring force.
Overcrowding
The report follows extensive documentation by media outlets and human rights groups of systemic abuse and torture of Palestinians in Israeli custody since October 2023, which has surged to record levels.
At least 100 prisoner deaths under these conditions have been reported in Israeli jails since then.
These deaths occurred amid widespread reports of physical abuse, sexual assault, medical neglect and starvation, with civilians comprising the majority of fatalities, according to classified Israeli data.
The circumstances surrounding these deaths have largely been kept secret by Israeli prison authorities, and to date, none have resulted in legal proceedings or accountability.
The Public Defender’s Office said Israeli forces launched a sweeping arrest campaign after the Gaza war began in 2023, pushing the prison system into extreme overcrowding.
The number of detainees held by the IPS rose by 3,000 in just two months.
By the end of 2024, the prison population had reached around 23,000 inmates - Palestinian and criminal - despite an official capacity of 14,500, creating what the report described as unprecedented overcrowding.
Around 90 percent of Palestinian prisoners were confined to living spaces of less than three square metres, and thousands had no bed.
Prisoners were often “held for 23 hours a day in severe overcrowding, many sleeping on mattresses on the floor,” the report said.
They were kept in dark, poorly ventilated cells with stifling conditions and inadequate sanitation.
Cells were stripped of all belongings except a Quran, and inmates struggled to maintain hygiene due to shortages of basic items such as toilet paper, soap and towels.
The report also noted scabies outbreaks in several Palestinian wings, at times reaching near-epidemic levels.
According to several Palestinian prisoner-monitoring groups, these conditions have persisted even after the Gaza ceasefire was signed last month.
At least 9,250 Palestinians are currently held in Israeli jails, though the real figure is likely higher, as Israel is withholding information on hundreds of Palestinians it has abducted from Gaza.
Nearly half of all Palestinian detainees are held without charge or trial, under indefinitely renewable administrative detention orders.
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