10,800 Palestinians in Israeli prisons; highest since Second Intifada

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: News websites
8 Jul 2025 15:58
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The number of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails has surged to 10,800, the highest since the Second Intifada, with a sharp rise in administrative detentions of women, children, and detainees from Gaza.

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Israeli soldiers take position as they search for two Palestinians who broke out of a maximum-security prison on September 12, 2021. (AP)

Palestinian prisoner support organizations reported on Tuesday that the number of Palestinians held in Israeli occupation prisons has risen to approximately 10,800 as of early July, marking the highest figure since the Second Intifada in 2000. This total does not include detainees held in occupation military camps, whose status remains largely unaccounted for.

In a joint statement, the organizations noted that the number of administrative detainees had climbed to 3,629, the highest proportion compared to sentenced prisoners and those labeled as "unlawful combatants." This system allows occupation authorities to detain individuals without charge or trial, a practice widely condemned by international rights groups.

Meanwhile, the number of prisoners classified as "unlawful combatants" has reached 2,454, not including the many detainees from Gaza held in military camps. According to the statement, this figure is the highest recorded since the beginning of the ongoing genocidal war waged by the occupation against Gaza.

The report added that the classification of "unlawful combatants" also includes Arab detainees from Lebanon and Syria, further reflecting the broader regional scope of "Israel's" detention policies.

Palestinian women in Israeli prisons: Violated, threatened, abused

As of today, 50 Palestinian women are being held in Israeli prisons, including two from Gaza, while the number of detained Palestinian children has surpassed 450. Human rights organizations have repeatedly raised concerns over the conditions and treatment of these vulnerable groups under occupation custody.

According to a statement by the Palestinian Prisoners' Media Office, Palestinian female prisoners are enduring increasingly harsh conditions in the Israeli occupation’s Damon prison, warning of a severe and unprecedented escalation by the prison administration.

Israeli prison authorities have reportedly slashed the daily recreation time to just 15 minutes, which is now solely designated for bathroom use. The rest of the time, the section remains locked down for hours under the pretext of "security procedures." In parallel, food rations have been significantly reduced, further worsening the humanitarian conditions.

The report also detailed a brutal crackdown at the onset of the Israeli occupation’s aggression against Iran, in which five Palestinian detainees, Islam Shouli, Tasneem Odeh, Lin Misk, Samah Hijjawi, and Fatima Jasrawi, were violently assaulted, subjected to isolation, spat on, verbally abused, and even threatened with rape.

Palestinian institutions continue to call for international accountability as prisoner numbers surge to levels not seen in over two decades, amid an intensifying campaign of arrests, raids, and arbitrary detention.