A recent investigation has revealed that a quarter of Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons and detention centers have contracted scabies in recent months. 

The outbreak is attributed to poor sanitary conditions, insufficient ventilation, and a lack of basic necessities, stemming from systemic medical negligence by Israeli authorities.

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on the findings, which stemmed from a petition filed by human rights organizations and included data from the Israeli occupation's Prison Service. According to the IPS, 2,874 prisoners have been infected with scabies over the past year, with 1,704 cases still active.

Scabies, a contagious skin condition caused by mites that burrow under the skin to lay eggs, leads to rashes, severe irritation, and other complications.

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), a US-based rights organization, highlighted that detainees lack access to washing machines and sufficient clothing. “Current data reveals that 430 prisoners in Ramon and Nafha prisons are battling the condition, alongside 596 in Megiddo and 566 in the Ketziot prison facility. Additionally, dozens of cases have been reported in Ofer detention center and other detention centers," the group noted.

The IPS confirmed that the outbreak has disrupted the legal processes for affected detainees, with meetings between lawyers and detainees in Nafha and Ramon prisons postponed and court hearings canceled.

Palestinian detainees stress that their suffering is deliberate. “When we asked for treatment, they told us that we are terrorists and must die,” one Palestinian detainee said as quoted by Haaretz.

Ameena Altaweel, a researcher with the Palestine Center for Prisoner Studies, emphasized that Palestinian human rights organizations have long raised concerns about scabies outbreaks in Israeli detention facilities. She attributed the spread of the disease to overcrowding and highlighted that Israeli authorities deliberately exacerbate the situation by failing to isolate infected detainees and withholding treatment.

Over 11,800 detained in West Bank since October 2023: Report

Palestinian detainee organizations released a detailed report, on Sunday, exposing the alarming scale of detainments and rights abuses carried out by Israeli forces in the West Bank and occupied al-Quds since October 7, 2023. The findings paint a harrowing picture of widespread detentions, violent repression, and systemic violations targeting Palestinians.

Since the onset of the war on Gaza, more than 11,800 Palestinians have been detained in the West Bank and occupied al-Quds. Among them are 435 women, including some from Gaza and areas occupied in 1948, and 775 children.

Journalists have also been heavily targeted, with 136 detainments reported. Of these, 59 journalists remain in detention, including six women and 32 Palestinians from Gaza.

While these figures are shocking, they exclude data from Gaza itself, where Israeli authorities have withheld detailed information. Reports estimate that around 4,500 Palestinians have been detained in Gaza during the same period.

Read more: Torture in Israeli prisons: Strapped to beds, stripped of clothes

Racist policies

The head of the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs Qaddura Fares has lately issued a statement criticizing the Israeli regime's recent decision to cancel the policy of administrative detention for Israeli settlers.

"Israel is a fascist racist state, established on hatred and organized crime, that threatens human and social values with its extremist policies. The world’s silence towards the killing and destruction of the Palestinian people, and the torture and abuse of its detainees will eventually find itself facing a regime of Zionist gangs that threatens the global and human stability," Fares said. 

Fares criticized Israeli Security Minister Israel Katz for removing the "symbolic restrictions" imposed on settlers through administrative detention.

This decision, justified under claims of protecting settlements from alleged Palestinian threats, was supported by fascist Israeli figures like Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who described it as a "correction of an injustice," and Deputy Abraham Boroun, who hailed it as an act of "support for settlers."

Read next: Shackled, starved: A look into the reality of Palestinian detainees