Thousands of Palestinian prisoners have been severely mistreated and subjected to deprivation in prison in Israel with governmental and widespread approval, a report by Israeli human rights group B’Tselem said.
The report said Israel was “continuing its systemic, institutionalised policy of torture and abuse of Palestinian prisoners, approved and backed by the political system, the judicial system, the media and, of course, the prison authorities themselves”.
“Far from being carried out in the shadows, this systemic abuse is put on public display, with no attempt to conceal or obscure it,” Jerusalem-based B’Tselem said.
The report said harsh treatment and poor conditions had led to deaths of at least 84 Palestinians and enduring health damage for many others.
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B’Tselem said that to “conceal crimes committed in detention facilities, Israel often blocks reliable autopsies, preventing clarification of the circumstances and causes of death of dozens of inmates”.
[ Palestinian children detained by Israeli forces: "They started dancing over us"Opens in new window ]
The Israeli prison services said they were holding 10,863 Palestinians classified as administrative detainees, unlawful combatants and security prisoners, although nearly 2,000 were freed in exchange for Israeli captives held by Hamas under the 2025 October ceasefire agreement.
Of the detainees, 10,465 were men, 350 were minors and 48 were women; 7,425 were from the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, and 2,931 from Gaza and 507 from Israel.
This report contained 21 new testimonies from freed prisoners about conditions in the 30 Israeli civilian prisons and detention facilities, building on an August 2024 report containing 55 testimonies.
In addition, the Israeli military operates four detention camps with the Negev desert’s Sde Tieman, an army base and detention facility with a history of abuses, being a focus of allegations.
Former detainees were threatened with rearrest if they testified on their experiences, B’Tselem said.
Nevertheless, the detainees described beatings, sexual assaults, electric shocks and use of tear gas and stun grenades.
Living conditions, B’Tselem said, included overcrowding, shackling for long periods, limited food, poor hygiene and denial of medical care. Some prisoners had reported loss of eyesight or hearing or have had limbs amputated.
The figures given in the report “include only Palestinians who are known to have been arrested”. The fate “remains unknown [of] hundreds of other Palestinians from Gaza who were detained by the military [and] gives cause for concern [that] the above figures are underestimates”.
In response to the report, Israel Prison Service said it “categorically rejects the false allegations”, saying it operated lawfully, was subject to monitoring and reviewed complaints.
However, these charges are not new: they have been made by B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights – Israel and have been reported by the Associated Press and other outlets.
