The Palestinian Authority for Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs has announced that Israeli forces have arrested more than 10,100 Palestinians from the occupied West Bank and occupied al-Quds since October 7, 2023. 

In a detailed report, the Authority outlined the horrific conditions faced by Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. The report, based on visits by Palestinian lawyers to several detainees in the Israeli Ofer Prison, located in the occupied West Bank, revealed that an entire bloc of the prison had been emptied, with prisoners being transferred to other facilities.

The detainees disclosed to their lawyers that they had been subjected to severe beatings and mistreatment on multiple occasions. Some reported being assaulted even during their transfer to meet with their attorneys.

The prisoners also emphasized the dire conditions they are enduring, including significant weight loss due to what they described as a "starvation policy" imposed by prison authorities.

Earlier this month, the Palestinian Authority for Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners' Club confirmed the death of 42-year-old detainee Islam Sarsawi from Gaza's Shujaiyya neighborhood.

Sarsawi, who was arrested during an Israeli raid on al-Shifa Hospital, died as a result of torture at the Sadiyah Taiman military camp.

In another tragic incident, Gaza's Ministry of Detainees and Ex-Detainees reported the death of 26-year-old Omar Abdul Aziz Junaid from Jabalia. Junaid succumbed to severe torture during interrogation in an Israeli prison.

Horrendous conditions

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An Israeli military doctor has relayed disturbing information about the harsh circumstances endured by Palestinian detainees at the notorious Sde Teiman concentration camp in southern occupied Palestine, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported.

The doctor's report, published on Friday, shed light on the horrific treatment of Palestinian prisoners. 

The anonymous doctor, who worked at the hospital last winter, revealed horrific tales.

“In one hospitalization tent, there were no more than 20 patients. All had their four limbs shackled to old steel beds, like the ones used in our hospitals years ago. All were conscious and all were blindfolded all the time,” the doctor reported. 

He explained that several detainees had just undergone significant operations or had sustained gunshot wounds, some of which occurred only hours before they arrived.

Released Palestinians recount worsening abuse in Israeli prisons

Frequent beatings, sexual assault, and violation of basic human rights characterize the conditions of Israeli prisons, which have significantly worsened since the beginning of the occupation's daily aggression in Gaza on October 7. 

The Associated Press (AP) conducted interviews with five recently released Palestinian prisoners, recounting their harsh experiences in Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir's facilities, who has boasted that prisons will no longer be "summer camps" under his leadership.

Although AP included accounts from five Palestinians in its article, one of the prisoners, Muazzaz Abayat, was too weak to recount his experience following his release in July after serving a six-month sentence at the Naqab prison, due to the regular beatings he faced. The former detainee was described as frail-looking, unable to focus, and barely had the energy to speak for several minutes. 

“At night, he hallucinates and stands in the middle of the house, in shock, or remembering the torment and pain he went through,” his cousin, Aya Abayat, said.

Though the other four accounts couldn't be independently verified by the news agency, the victims detailed similar experiences through their lengthy interviews, with one interviewee requesting anonymity for fear of being re-arrested. According to AP, the descriptions matched reports from human rights groups that have documented abuse in Israeli prison facilities.