'We scratch until we bleed': Scabies consumes Palestinian detainees
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Palestinian detainees face starvation, abuse, and untreated scabies in overcrowded Israeli prisons, as rights groups warn of collapsing health conditions and systemic neglect.
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Blindfolded Palestinians abducted from the Gaza Strip in the Sde Teiman military base. (Breaking The Silence via AP)
Ameenah Qumber, an attorney with the human rights organization HaMoked, is a frequent visitor to Israeli prisons, where she monitors the conditions of Palestinian detainees from Gaza and the West Bank.
Qumber describes prison conditions as “difficult", noting that the facilities are currently grappling with a second wave of scabies infections that began in April.
Scabies, a contagious skin disease caused by microscopic mites burrowing into the skin, leads to severe itching, particularly at night, and rash outbreaks. Once nearly nonexistent in Israeli and Palestinian detention centers, the condition has surged in recent years, especially within the security wings of prisons.
'Prisoners scratch until bleeding '
The current population of Israeli prisons is more than double the number held before October 7, 2023. Qumber shared firsthand accounts from Palestinian detainees, revealing that many suffered from scabies yet faced delayed or inadequate treatment. “Prisoners I met recently reported infections but were denied clinic visits for months,” she said. “Eventually, they received only a single dose of acetaminophen and ointment over months.”
Rights groups highlight that scabies outbreaks were virtually unknown in Israeli prisons before October 2023. The infestation signals worsening prison conditions, exacerbated by overcrowding amid the surge in Palestinian arrests.
Physicians for Human Rights–Israel and HaMoked began documenting cases late in 2024, petitioning the High Court for urgent medical intervention. Qumber describes the physical toll: “Scabies lesions cover the body, arms, legs, stomach, and back. Itching is intense; prisoners scratch until bleeding, losing sleep. Even healing leaves scars resembling burns.”
'Summer clothes were handed down from infected prisoners'
Mohammed Abu Mukh, detained at Ketziot Prison, recounted enduring scabies with minimal medical care. “My examination was superficial; once a dentist checked me, despite no relevance,” he said. Poor hygiene worsens conditions, especially since there are "no washing machines, blankets aren’t cleaned, and summer clothes were handed down from infected prisoners.”
Despite official claims by the Israeli Prison System (IPS) that the outbreak is “under control", data tell a different story. While only 49 cases were reported in Ketziot in early 2025, by May alone, 2,500 cases emerged, with nearly 3,000 infections recorded at the outbreak’s peak in June. As of early July, numbers remained high.
Adi Lustigman, an attorney representing Physicians for Human Rights, accused "Israel" of downplaying realities in court and neglecting inmate welfare.
The IPS alleged it coordinates with the Health Ministry to combat scabies, implementing isolation, treatment, and hygiene protocols.
Inhumane conditions
Israeli Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has dictated harsher penalties for Palestinian detainees. Before the war, he closed prison bakeries to eliminate “privileges for terrorists,” increasing prison costs as bread was bought externally. After the Israeli genocide on Gaza began, he declared a “state of emergency” in prisons, cutting living space per inmate and rolling back prisoner rights through emergency legislation.
Testimonies report cells housing 14 to 16 inmates, nearly triple the prewar average, leading to overcrowding that promotes disease spread. Lustigman warns conditions now fall “below human dignity.”
Ben-Gvir has defended reduced food rations despite High Court challenges, dismissing prior standards as “the era of feasts” and vowing to keep “terrorists’ prison cells” from becoming “hotels.”
Palestinians shackled in cages
The IPS currently holds approximately 24,000 Palestinians. The rising detainee count stems from sweeping Israeli military arrest operations across the West Bank and Gaza.
To accommodate overcrowding, "Israel" has expanded the use of notorious detention camps under Israeli occupation forces. Some Palestinians abducted from Gaza remain in such sites, like the Sde Teiman base, where Qumber recently reported dire conditions, limited showers, shared soap among many inmates, filthy mattresses, and no isolation for those infected.
Testimonies reveal detainees shackled in cages, physical abuse by soldiers, and ongoing mistreatment despite court interventions, transferring many to IPS custody.
Food shortages compound suffering. Testimonies include severe hunger, drastic weight loss, and inadequate meals consisting of tiny portions shared among entire cells. Some detainees resorted to eating toothpaste to manage medical conditions like diabetes.
Qumber emphasizes the root causes: “Scabies spreads due to violations of basic hygiene, lack of showers, soap, shampoo, and clean clothes, and insufficient food.”
Lustigman concludes, “The government is legally obligated to ensure minimum living standards. Disease outbreaks cannot be justified; they violate law and human dignity.”
