DaysofPal – The Palestine Center for Prisoners Studies has warned of deteriorating conditions for Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons as soaring summer temperatures compound what it described as increasingly harsh detention conditions.
In a statement issued Thursday, the center said Israeli prison authorities are exploiting heatwaves and extreme weather to intensify prisoners’ suffering by denying them basic ventilation and other measures that could help alleviate the effects of high temperatures.
According to the center, prison authorities have covered ventilation openings in several prison sections and cells with iron plates, restricting the flow of natural air.
The organization said measures against Palestinian prisoners have escalated since Oct. 7, 2023, including the removal of electric fans from prison cells, which it described as the only available means of coping with the extreme heat. It said the move has worsened living conditions and turned detention facilities into suffocating environments that threaten prisoners’ health and safety.
The center also reported unprecedented overcrowding in Israeli prisons following large-scale arrest campaigns across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. It said prison authorities have placed numbers of detainees in cells beyond their intended capacity.
As a result, many prisoners are forced to sleep on the floor in overcrowded cells amid high temperatures and humidity, while access to daily outdoor recreation periods has been reduced or, in some prisons, suspended altogether.
The center said many detainees rely almost exclusively on water to cope with the heat, repeatedly soaking their clothes and blankets to reduce the effects of suffocation and exhaustion. It added that elderly prisoners, children, and those with medical conditions face heightened health risks under these conditions.
According to the statement, Israeli prison authorities have repeatedly rejected prisoners’ demands to restore fans, improve ventilation, or reopen sealed windows. The center said these measures reflect a deliberate policy aimed at worsening detention conditions and negatively affecting prisoners’ physical and psychological well-being.
The organization warned that the continued practices amount to a form of collective punishment and increase health risks for detainees, particularly in light of inadequate medical care and deteriorating living conditions.
It called on international, human rights, and humanitarian organizations to take urgent action and pressure Israeli authorities to end the violations and ensure detention conditions comply with international standards.
The center also warned that continued international silence over the treatment of Palestinian prisoners would further deepen their suffering and increase the risks to their lives.
According to the center, more than 9,400 Palestinian prisoners are currently being held in Israeli prisons, where extreme summer temperatures add to already harsh conditions of confinement.
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