Palestinians in Israeli Jails Face Extremely Poor Conditions

Ramallah, MINA – Palestinian rights groups say prisoners from Gaza held in Israel’s Ofer Prison near Ramallah face extremely poor conditions.

Reporting from MEMO, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Affairs Commission and Prisoners’ Society on Wednesday issued a report after lawyers visited six Gaza prisoners. During the visit, they noted various forms of torture and ill-treatment that are considered part of a systematic practice.

The report details the tragic conditions of torture and ill-treatment observed during the visits, including practices that the Group says constitute systematic torture.

According to the report, the prison administration often deprived detainees of their rights, which it described as a form of torture. Detainees reported that they were forced to say “thank you, Captain (prison warden)” in Hebrew, and would be punished if they refused. In addition, they complained of a lack of health services and being forced to sit in degrading positions.

Rights groups say prisoners suffer from the cold, especially at night, due to a lack of warm clothes and blankets.

“A pattern of retaliatory behavior among guards and soldiers, who seem to compete with each other to determine who can treat prisoners the harshest,” the group said.

Israel launched a war on Gaza after an October 7, 2023 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas. Since then, thousands of people from the area, including women, children, the elderly, and medical personnel, have been held in Israeli prisons.” (T/RE1/P2)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)