Urgent Statement Regarding Palestinian Prisoners

Since the events of October 7, the conditions in Israeli prisons have been catastrophic for Palestinian prisoners who have suffered the brunt of the Israeli occupation, which made the previous situation worse. The occupation launched an arrest campaign in all Palestinian territories. More than ten thousand prisoners were arrested in the West Bank alone, not to mention Palestinian prisoners arrested from Gaza, who are now behind the walls of the notorious Sde Teiman prison, and there is a constant state of panic and fear.

The whole world is a witness to their unspeakable suffering, but nobody does anything to change that. Prisoners in Israeli prisons suffer from starvation, sexual abuse which has been documented on video and aired on news channels, murder, and detention in conditions that do not meet minimum human rights standards. Countless released prisoners are unable to speak of the horrors they faced behind these walls, but those who do, describe the sense of fear for their lives and their dignity because of what happens to them inside these dark cells. Testimonies from prisoners and lawyers who have been granted access to prisons show that prisoners suffer from deprivation of enough water, food, bathroom breaks, hygiene, sleep and of course medicine. Soldiers also beat prisoners severely and repeatedly, and they used other psychological and physical methods of torture.

In Sde Teiman prison, which holds prisoners arrested by Israeli occupation soldiers from Gaza, the occupation commits unimaginable atrocities. Testimonies from prisoners and lawyers have circulated as well as videos documenting the rape of Palestinian prisoners by Israeli soldiers and police dogs. Many released prisoners are transported to hospitals in a deplorable state of health. This is what many prestigious human rights institutions, medical facilities, and media outlets have documented.

Treating prisoners in a cruel and barbaric way is an attempt to dehumanize Palestinians as human beings. It really is unfortunate that we see no notable reaction or serious actions from the relevant and competent international authorities regarding the issue of Palestinian prisoners. We call upon the international community and all human rights institutions to break their silence to defend Palestinian prisoners' rights and to stand by justice and uprightness of moral consciousness.