RAMALLAH, (PIC)
The Palestinian Commission of Detainees’ and Ex-Detainees’ Affairs has reported a sharp and unprecedented deterioration in the incarceration conditions of Palestinian prisoners inside Etzion jail.
This came after the Commission’s lawyer recently visited the prison. She reportedly insisted on meeting detainees face-to-face rather than relying on video calls, which have been imposed by the Israeli prison administration since the war on Gaza started.
The lawyer managed to visit five out of nine detainees, with additional visits scheduled.
The lawyer described the testimonies she received as “shocking.” Prisoners told her that most of them had gone over a month without showering due to the lack of hot water and the absence of basic needs such as soap and towels.
According to testimonies, Israeli jailers have intensified repressive measures inside the prison, conducting cell raids with dogs three times a week, accompanied by shouting and insults, and forcing detainees to kneel for hours, with those unable to comply severely beaten.
Israeli jailers routinely fire tear gas canisters in the prison yard, sparking suffocation and collapses among the detainees already weakened by hunger and fatigue.
Despite the harsh detention conditions, the prisoners stressed that what weighs most heavily on them is not only the scarcity of food but what they described as a “systematic policy of humiliation and maltreatment” pursued against them.
The Commission called for urgent international action to improve the conditions of Palestinian prisoners and to pressure the Israeli occupation government to uphold humanitarian standards in its jails.
