DaysofPal – The Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, said that footage broadcast by the Israeli occupation forces showing the brutal abuse of Palestinian prisoners inside Ofer Prison represents a new war crime and a flagrant challenge to international humanitarian laws related to detainees.
In a statement issued Saturday, Hamas said the scenes from the prison took place under the supervision of the “extremist criminal” Itamar Ben-Gvir. The movement stated that continued international silence regarding the crimes committed against Palestinian prisoners, along with the approval of a law permitting the death penalty, encourages the fascist occupation to persist in its brutal practices inside prisons. It characterized these actions as an extension of the war of genocide and ethnic cleansing against the Palestinian people.
Hamas added that the physical and psychological liquidation of prisoners places the world, its institutions, and governments before their humanitarian, moral, and legal responsibilities to restrain the occupation and put an end to its crimes inside prisons. It called for urgent action at all levels to protect prisoners, pursue the occupation, and hold it accountable for crimes committed against the Palestinian people.
The statement concluded by affirming that prisoners are “a trust upon our shoulders” and that the movement will not abandon their just cause. It said the Palestinian people everywhere will remain loyal to them until they achieve their freedom.
On Friday morning, Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir stormed the cells of prisoners in Ofer Prison near Ramallah during an inspection visit, accompanied by the commissioner of the Israeli Prison Service.
According to Israel’s Channel 7, the visit took place shortly before the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan and included a tour of the cells of prisoners the channel referred to as “terrorists.”
A video published by the channel showed scenes of assaults and repression against prisoners during the minister’s entry into the prison. Israeli forces were seen firing tear gas and stun grenades inside the cells and aiming weapons at detainees inside their cells.
The channel reported that Ben-Gvir issued threats to Palestinian prisoners, warning them against carrying out any actions during the month of Ramadan. He boasted about changes he said he had introduced to prison conditions since taking office and threatened to execute prisoners, stating that prisons had become “a real prison and not a hotel,” according to his remarks.
A report issued in January 2026 by the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights, B’Tselem, stated that Israeli prisons and detention centers had turned into a “network of systematic torture camps” against Palestinian prisoners and detainees. The report said this was part of an official policy based on physical and psychological abuse, starvation, medical neglect, and complete isolation from the outside world.
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