‘Welcome to hell’
Israeli prison system as network of torture camps
Warning: This article contains details that some readers may find upsetting This report concerns the treatment of Palestinian prisoners and the inhuman conditions they have been subjected to in Israeli prisons since October 7. B’Tselem collected testimonies from 55 Palestinians incarcerated in Israeli prisons and detention facilities during this time. Thirty of the witnesses are residents of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem; 21 are residents of the Gaza Strip; and four are Israeli citizens. They spoke with B’Tselem after they were released from detention, the overwhelming majority of them without being tried. Their testimonies uncover a systemic, institutional policy focused on the continual abuse and torture of all Palestinian prisoners. This includes frequent acts of severe, arbitrary violence; sexual assault; humiliation and degradation; deliberate starvation; forced unhygienic conditions; sleep deprivation; prohibition on, and punitive measures for, religious worship; confiscation of all communal and personal belongings; and denial of adequate medical treatment. These descriptions appear time and again in the testimonies, in horrifying detail and with chilling similarities. Over the years, Israel has incarcerated hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in prisons, which have always served, above all, as a tool for oppressing and dominating the Palestinian population. The stories presented in this report are the story of thousands of Palestinians, residents of the Occupied Territories and citizens of Israel, who have been arrested since the beginning of the war, as well as Palestinians already in prison on October 7, who experienced the massive increase in hostility from prison authorities since that day. The prisoners’ testimonies lay bare the outcomes of a rushed process in which more than a dozen Israeli prison facilities, both military and civilian, were converted into a network of camps dedicated to the abuse of inmates. Such spaces, in which every inmate is intentionally condemned to severe, relentless pain and suffering, operate in fact as torture camps. The abuse consistently described in the testimonies of dozens of people held in different detention facilities is so systemic, that there is no room to doubt an organized, declared policy of the Israeli prison authorities. This policy is implemented under the direction of Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir, whose office oversees the Israel Prison Service (IPS), with the full support of the Israeli government and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The testimonies given to B’Tselem reveal the following prevalent, consistent, and widespread conditions.
Overpopulation, crowding in cells
The testimonies indicate that cell occupancy more than doubled. Cells intended for six prisoners held 12 to 14 prisoners at a time, with “excess” inmates forced to sleep on the floor, sometimes with no mattress or blanket.
“After October 7, 2023, [...| the prison administration collectively punished us on a regular basis. The first thing was increasing the number of prisoners in each cell from six to 14. This meant reduced privacy and a much longer wait to use the toilet in the cell. In addition, the new detainees who came to the cell had to sleep on the floor because there were only three bunk beds.”
From the testimony of S.B., a resident of East Jerusalem.
No sunlight, no air to breathe
Some prisoners found themselves locked in their cells throughout the entire day; others were allowed out for an hour once every few days in order to shower. Some never saw daylight during their time in prison.
“We were also forbidden to go outside to the yard, unlike before.
For 191 days, I didn’t see the sun.”
From the testimony of Thaer Halahleh, 45, a father of four and resident of Kharas in Hebron District, who was held in the Ofer and Nafha prisons.
Violent roll calls, increased frequency
According to the testimonies, roll calls and/or cell searches occur three to five times a day. In most cases, inmates were forced to crowd together, facing the wall, with their heads bowed down to the floor and their hands interlocked on the back of their necks, in some cases kneeling in prostration as during prayer. These practices no longer serve their original purpose and have become an opportunity for prison guards to unleash severe violence and another tool for humiliating and degrading prisoners.
“We were counted three times a day. It was done in a humiliating way, with the guards shouting. The unit would come in heavily armed with gas and batons. [...] There was also a policy of collective punishment and random searches of the cells about once a week. They would force us to undress and then search us, take us out of the cells into the corridor, and do a thorough search of the room. It could take an hour or even several hours, and included shouting, assaults, and beatings with batons.”
From the testimony of Muhammad Srur, 34, a father of two and resident of Ni’lin in Ramallah District, who was held in the Etzion detention facility and in the Ofer and Nafha prisons.
Withholding access to courts, aid
agencies, and legal counsel
As the Emergency Regulations permit, the vast majority of the witnesses went days, weeks, and in some cases, months before being brought before a judge for the first time, and even then, the hearings took place remotely via Zoom. The menacing presence of the prison guards inhibited prisoners from complaining to the judges or reporting the torture they underwent.
“They took us one by one to a room where we attended our hearings via Zoom. On the way there, IRF members punched me very hard in the chest. An Arabic-speaking guard was in the room, and he listened to the entire conversation between me, the judge, and the lawyer. He threatened that if I complained to the judge, I would pay. The lawyer told me before the hearing that the judges already knew about everything that was going on in the prison, so there was no point talking about it. Still, in the hearing, he asked me, “Have you been exposed to violence in prison?” I didn’t dare answer because I was afraid the guards would retaliate and beat me even more brutally. [...] Every time they took me to the room where we attended our court hearings on Zoom, I endured the same path of torture, beating, and humiliation. All the inmates in the prison went through that.”
From the testimony of Firas Hassan, 50, a father of four and resident of Hindaza in Bethlehem District, who was held in the Negev Prison (Ketziot).
Meetings with legal counsel were denied for increasingly long durations, reaching as much as 180 days, on the pretext of “dynamic needs on the ground”. Most of the witnesses interviewed for this report did not see their lawyers once during their entire incarceration. They were also prevented from meeting with representatives of the ICRC, aid and human rights organizations, the Public Defender’s Office, or other official oversight bodies.
Confiscation of personal possessions
One of the very first steps taken by prison authorities as soon as the war began was to confiscate all shared and personal property that Palestinian prisoners kept in their cells.
“We had no clothes other than what we had on, so we couldn’t change or really wash them. We wore the same clothes all the time. They held a search every day, and if they found another piece of clothing, they confiscated it. They also carried out random searches at night and took anything they found. One prisoner stayed in the same clothes for 51 days.”
From the testimony of Sami Khalili, 41, a resident of Nablus who was serving a prison sentence from 2003 and was held in the Negev Prison (Ketziot).
Unrelenting physical and psychological abuse
Institutional violence against Palestinian prisoners by prison authorities has become more frequent and more virulent since October 7. Testimonies attest to physical, sexual, psychological, and verbal violence, directed at all Palestinian prisoners and perpetrated in an arbitrary, menacing fashion, usually under a shroud of anonymity.
The scope of violence emerging from the testimonies clarifies that these are not isolated, random incidents, but rather an institutional policy integral to the treatment of prisoners.
Physical violence, intimidation
Pepper spray, stun grenades, sticks, wooden clubs and metal batons, gun butts and barrels, brass knuckles and tasers, attack dogs, beatings, punches, and kicks — these are just some of the methods used to torture and abuse prisoners according to the testimonies. These assaults were described as a fixture of everyday life in prison and often led to severe injuries, loss of consciousness, broken bones, and, in extreme cases, even death.
“I leaned against a wall. I had broken ribs and was injured in my right shoulder, my right thumb, and a finger on my left hand. I couldn’t move or breathe for half an hour. Everyone around me was screaming in pain, and some inmates were crying. Most were bleeding. It was a nightmare beyond words.”
From the testimony of Ashraf al-Muhtaseb, 53, a father of five and resident of Hebron District, who was held in the Etzion detention facility and the Ofer and Negev (Ketziot) prisons.
“We lived in fear and panic. The only expressions we saw on the faces of the guards and the special forces were anger and vengefulness. Even during roll call, they would taunt the prisoners, aiming laser beams at them. They just wanted the prisoner to open his mouth so they could pounce on him, beat him, and crush him.”
From the testimony of Khaled Abu ‘Ara, 24, a resident of ‘Akabah in Tubas District, who was held in the Negev Prison (Ketziot).
Extreme violence during transfers and travel
The testimonies attest to severe violence used against prisoners during transfers: whether between prison facilities, in prison waiting areas used as way stations prior to admission into prison or travel out of it (also known as “transitions”), and sometimes during transitions between wings and other areas inside the prison itself.
Sleep deprivation
Sleep deprivation was an integral part of the daily abuses meted out to inmates. In some cases, the lighting in the cells is on throughout the night; in others, guards played loud music or unpleasant sounds to keep prisoners from sleeping. These are acts that sometimes amount to actual torture.
“The next day, two guards came and took me to a cell the size of 1.5 square meters with no toilet. I was in that cell alone for more than three months. [...] The light was on 24/7 and I lost track of time. I didn’t know what time it was or what day it was. I had no one to talk to. I almost went crazy in there.”
From the testimony of M.A., Hebron District.
Absence, denial of medical treatment
Many witnesses said that prison guards and medical staff at the detention facilities and prisons refrained from providing essential medical care or refused to do so, even in life-threatening situations. In some cases, medics and other medical staff admitted to prisoners they had received instructions not to provide treatment and medication to inmates, even when the treatment in question was life-saving.
The denial of medical care and improper treatment of patients often led to horrific outcomes, causing long-term injuries. One example can be found in the testimony of Sufian Abu Saleh, a 43-year-old from Gaza who was held in the Sde Teiman military detention facility. Abu Saleh’s leg had to be amputated as a result of injuries caused by soldier violence, harsh incarceration conditions, inadequate treatment, and indifference on the part of the facility’s personnel.
Food deprivation, starvation
The reduced amounts of food provided to Palestinian prisoners and limited calorie intake are part of the new policy declared by the Minister of National Security when he first took office. The witnesses spoke about the extreme hunger they were forced to endure and the poor quality of the food, which was often undercooked or past its expiry date. The policy of starvation affected prisoners’ health and physical shape. The profound lack of food resulted in significant weight loss, sometimes amounting to tens of kilograms.
“The food was terrible, both in quantity and quality. We were given portions that wouldn’t satisfy anybody. Most of the time the food was rotten — for instance, the eggs and yogurt. Once, when a detainee in the cell next to ours asked to swap his yogurt because the expiration date had passed, they punished all the inmates in the cell: they set dogs on them, beat them with clubs, dragged them to the bathroom, and beat them up. The next day, I could still see their blood on the floor.”
From the testimony of Hisham Saleh, 38, a resident of a-Sawiyah in Nablus District, who was held in Ofer Prison.
Hygiene, cutting off the water
supply
Witnesses spoke of being forced to live in filth during their incarceration, as a result of the blanket confiscation of bathing, cleaning and washing supplies, the water supply cut off in cells, and the limited access to shower facilities that were not meant for such a large number of prisoners in the first place. In many cases, toilet tanks had running water for only one hour a day as well. Prison cells were turned into a sanitary hazard and made unfit for human habitation. These conditions led to the development and spread of diseases and various health problems.
“We felt our bodies were rotting with dirt. Some of us had rashes. There was no hygiene. There was no soap, shampoo, hair brushes, or nail clippers. After a month and a half, we got shampoo for the first time. There were no cleaning supplies either, and it was impossible to clean the cell or the toilet, or to wash clothes.”
From the testimony of Muhammad Srur, 34, a father of two and resident of Ni’lin in Ramallah District, who was held in the Etzion detention facility and in the Ofer and Nafha prisons.
“The cold water taps in the rooms ran only one hour a day, from 2:30 P.M. to 3:30 P.M. You could only use the toilet — which is inside the cell — during that hour because otherwise, it was impossible to flush. But sometimes people couldn’t hold it in and it was disgusting, causing a stench and bad hygiene conditions.”
From the testimony of Z.A., East
Jerusalem.
The testimonies presented in this report provide an account of how Israeli prison facilities have been turned into a network of torture camps.
Given the severity of the acts, the extent to which the provisions of international law are being violated, and the fact that these violations are directed at the entire population of Palestinian prisoners daily and over time — the only possible conclusion is that in carrying out these acts, Israel is committing torture that amounts to a war crime and even a crime against humanity.
We appeal to all nations and to all international institutions and bodies, including the International Criminal Court, to do everything in their power to put an immediate end to the cruelties meted out on Palestinians by Israel’s prison system, and to recognize the Israeli regime operating this system as an apartheid regime that must come to an end.
The full executive summary first appeared on B’Tselem.