Israeli Court admits food deterioration for Palestinian prisoners
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The Israeli Supreme Court has acknowledged food shortages for Palestinian prisoners, as rights groups report deliberate starvation, assaults on detainees, and violations of international law.
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Israeli prison guards work outside of Ofer Prison near al-Quds, Occupied Palestine, September, 9, 2021 (AP)
The Israeli Supreme Court confirmed on Sunday that the food provided to Palestinian prisoners does not meet the required legal standards, acknowledging ongoing severe shortages inside detention facilities.
According to Yedioth Ahronoth, human rights organizations said they have collected testimonies from released prisoners describing a policy of deliberate starvation, leaving detainees suffering from hunger and significant weight loss.
The lawsuit filed against prison authorities reflects what rights groups have consistently stressed as systematic suffering that violates international human rights laws and conventions.
Last month, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club reported that the administration of Damon Prison carried out four raids on Palestinian female detainees during the first half of August. The raids involved physical and psychological assaults, the use of police dogs, and tear gas, as well as humiliating measures against the prisoners.
In another case, the daughter of Palestinian prisoner leader Ahmad Saadat drew attention to her father’s deteriorating health and harsh detention conditions in Megiddo Prison. She also reported obstacles preventing his lawyer from visiting him, compounding the challenges faced by Palestinian prisoners and their families.
314 Palestinians martyred in Israeli prisons
The Prisoners’ Information Office in Gaza has revealed that 77 Palestinian prisoners have been killed inside Israeli prisons since October 7, 2023, as a result of torture, starvation, and deliberate medical negligence.
According to the report, the total number of prisoners martyred in Israeli custody since 1967 has reached 314. The occupation continues to withhold the bodies of 74 prisoners, denying their families the right to burial.
The total number of Palestinian prisoners and detainees in Israeli occupation prisons has now reached more than 10,800 as of the beginning of July 2025, though this figure only includes those held in facilities run by the Israeli Prison Service and does not account for detainees held in military camps operated by the occupation forces.
Among these are 48 women, 440+ child detainees, and 3,600+ Palestinians held indefinitely under administrative detention, and 2,454 Gaza detainees branded as "unlawful combatants" by Israeli authorities.
Read more: Palestinian detainees suffer under scabies outbreak in Israeli jails
