DaysofPAL-Palestinian human rights groups say detention conditions in Israeli jails amount to a systematic policy of slow death against Palestinian prisoners, carried out amid the sustained international silence and lack of accountability.
According to Palestinian rights groups working on prisoners’ affairs, abuses inside Israeli prisons are not isolated incidents but part of a deliberate and coordinated system involving physical and psychological torture, starvation, prolonged solitary confinement, and the denial of medical care.
These practices, the groups said, are designed to exhaust detainees physically and mentally and, in some cases, lead to their gradual death.
Particular concern has been raised over the treatment of sick prisoners, especially those suffering from cancer.
Rights advocates reported that detainees are routinely denied diagnostic tests, treatment, and basic medication, in a clear violation of international humanitarian law and medical ethics.
The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club said that since October 7, 2023, Israeli authorities have escalated the policy of systematic starvation and medical neglect inside prisons.
The group reported the spread of skin diseases, severe malnutrition, and untreated illnesses, resulting in the deaths of dozens of detainees.
It warned that the true toll may be higher due to enforced disappearances and restrictions on information.
As of early February, more than 10,000 Palestinians are being held in Israeli detention, according to the Prisoners’ Club, including approximately 400 children and 30 women.
The number of detainees from the Gaza Strip remains unknown, with rights groups citing a complete information blackout imposed by Israeli occupation.
Qaddoura Fares, head of the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club, described Israeli prison policies as a cold-blooded system of slow killing carried out before the eyes and ears of the world.”
Fares said detention facilities have effectively become tools of collective punishment, where prisoners are subjected to beatings, stress positions, sleep deprivation, prolonged isolation, and sharply reduced access to food, clothing, and basic necessities.
Fares stressed that medical neglect is deliberate rather than accidental, saying prisoners are rarely transferred to hospitals except in extreme cases.
He highlighted the cases of at least 26 detainees suffering from cancer, warning that their lives are at immediate risk.
According to him, these prisoners are denied chemotherapy, radiation treatment, routine medical tests, and, in some cases, even pain relief.
He accused the international community of moral and political complicity, arguing that silence has encouraged Israeli occupation to intensify abusive practices.
He called on states parties to the Geneva Conventions and international human rights institutions to take responsibility for the fate of Palestinian detainees.
Khaled Mahajna, a lawyer with the Palestinian Commission of Detainees’ Affairs, echoed these concerns, describing Israeli prisons as “deadly punitive environments.”
He said detainees are subjected to daily suffering through torture, starvation, medical neglect, and long-term solitary confinement in violation of international law.
Mahajna warned that the treatment of cancer patients constitutes a “compound crime,” with illness itself being used as a form of punishment.
He said authorities routinely delay treatment, block hospital transfers, and prevent medication from entering prisons, leading to severe deterioration, permanent disability, and death.
Calling for urgent international intervention, Mahajna said the protection of prisoners’ lives can no longer be postponed, urging immediate action to hold the Israeli occupation accountable and to ensure detainees’ right to medical care and humane treatment under international humanitarian law.
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