DaysofPal- A Palestinian human rights lawyer has warned that conditions facing Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons have reached unprecedented levels, describing the current situation as the most severe in the history of the prisoners’ movement.
Khaled Mahajneh, a lawyer with the Palestinian Prisoners and Freed Prisoners Affairs Commission, said Israeli prison authorities have intensified systematic abuses since the start of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023.
Speaking to Palestine Online, Mahajneh described the organized policy targeting prisoners’ physical and psychological well-being, as well as their basic human dignity.
According to Mahajneh, the violations go far beyond routine punitive measures and now constitute widespread ill-treatment, torture, and the denial of fundamental rights.
Mahajneh said Palestinian children are bearing the brunt of the deteriorating conditions. He estimated that around 350 minors are currently detained in Israeli prisons, primarily in Megiddo and Ofer facilities.
He reported that child detainees are being held in severely overcrowded sections lacking basic hygiene, adequate nutrition, proper clothing, and medical care.
These conditions, he said, have contributed to the spread of infectious diseases, while prison authorities continue to deny necessary treatment.
Mahajneh described the ongoing medical neglect as a deliberate policy rather than isolated incidents.
The lawyer said the abuses extend across the entire prison population. More than 9,300 Palestinian prisoners, including women, are currently held in Israeli jails, a figure that does not include thousands of detainees reportedly held in Israeli military camps without access to legal representation or clear information about their status.
Many prisoners are being held under administrative detention without charge or trial, with some denied family visits and legal access for extended periods.
Mahajneh said prison conditions have sharply deteriorated since October 2023, citing the confiscation of personal belongings, the closure of prison canteens, and reductions in food rations.
He also reported incidents of severe beatings, humiliation, and deaths in custody, along with widespread allegations of forced confessions and psychological pressure during interrogations.
Mahajneh said child detainees in particular face lasting psychological trauma, often arrested during night raids, restrained, isolated from their families, and interrogated without legal safeguards.
He warned that such practices violate international legal standards, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Geneva Conventions.
He held Israeli authorities fully responsible for the safety and welfare of all detainees and called on international and human rights organizations to take urgent action.
His demands include allowing independent investigations into prison conditions, ending torture and medical neglect, and securing the release of child detainees.
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