**DayofPal**– On the occasion of International Women’s Day, the Commission for Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club released a joint report highlighting the grave conditions faced by Palestinian women prisoners in Israeli detention.
These conditions include systematic torture, starvation, medical negligence, sexual assaults, repeated violent raids on prison cells, deprivation, and psychological torture from the moment of their arrest.
Since the start of the Israeli aggression on Gaza on October 7, 2023, Israeli forces have escalated their campaign of detaining Palestinian women, including minors. Documentation by human rights organizations indicates that 490 women have been arrested since that date, including women from the occupied West Bank, Jerusalem, and inside the 1948-occupied territories. The number of women arrested from Gaza remains unclear.
As of March 2025, 21 Palestinian women remain in Israeli prisons, 17 of whom are still under pre-trial detention. Among them is one woman from Gaza, two minors, one only 12 years old, 12 mothers, a pregnant woman in her third month, two administrative detainees, six teachers, and a journalist who is also a media student. Additionally, one of the detainees is suffering from cancer.
Two women prisoners, detained before October 7, 2023, remain excluded from any proposed prisoner exchange deals.
#### A New Post-War Policy
The arrest of Palestinian women does not occur in isolation. Many of the women detainee come from families that have faced repeated Israeli incursions, home raids, and the detention or killing of family members.
Since the start of the war, Israeli forces have used the detention of women as a means of coercion and extortion, forcing targeted Palestinian men or prisoners’ relatives to surrender.
Among those detained as hostages are wives of prisoners and martyrs, as well as elderly mothers over 70 years old.
These women are subjected to physical abuse, threats, including threats to kill their husbands or sons, house raids, destruction of property, and the confiscation of their belongings, including money and gold jewelry.
#### Torture During Arrest and Interrogation
Testimonies from women detainees reveal systematic physical abuse, torture, and beatings during their arrest. Many have reported being kicked, beaten with rifle butts, and restrained with tight handcuffs and blindfolds.
One testimony describes: “Upon my arrest, I was beaten at a checkpoint. Soldiers kicked me in the stomach, handcuffed me, and blindfolded me. I was taken to an interrogation center, where I was severely beaten, causing my clothes to tear and exposing parts of my body. Due to the beatings, I experienced heavy bleeding for 20 days. I was later transferred to Sharon Prison, where I was placed in a filthy cell, deprived of food, and forced to sleep on a thin mattress without a blanket.”
Another detainee recounts: “I was arrested at midnight and taken to a settlement, where I remained handcuffed and blindfolded without food or water until the next evening. Soldiers mocked me, played loud music to prevent me from sleeping, and forced me to stand and sit repeatedly while hurling insults. Later, I was transferred to Sharon Prison, where I was subjected to an electric shock for refusing a strip search.”
#### Sharon Prison: A Hub of Abuse and Sexual Violence
Sharon Prison has become a transit station for abuse before transferring detainees to Damon Prison. Women detainees routinely undergo strip searches, face physical assault, and are detained in inhumane conditions. Cells are dirty, poorly ventilated, and lack basic hygiene supplies.
One detainee said: “At Sharon Prison, I was strip-searched and kept in a cell with cameras, preventing me from using the toilet. The prison authorities provided me with a blanket soaked in urine, and in the morning, they confiscated both the blanket and mattress, leaving me to sit on my shoes.”
Sexual violence has been one of the most alarming forms of abuse against Palestinian female detainees. The UN has confirmed receiving credible reports of rape and sexual violence against Palestinian women detainees from Gaza.
“During my arrest and interrogation, I was sexually harassed by Israeli soldiers who touched my body inappropriately. They insulted me with vulgar language and threw cigarette butts and food scraps at me. I was also physically beaten, resulting in severe pain, but was denied medical treatment,” one survivor testified.
#### Systematic Deprivation and Collective Punishment
Israeli authorities systematically deprive Palestinian women detainees of their basic needs, using these as tools of psychological and physical torture.
Hygiene and Health Neglect: Women detainees are deprived of adequate sanitary pads, clean clothing, and proper hygiene facilities.
Extreme Temperatures: Prisoners are denied appropriate clothing for both summer and winter, leaving them exposed to severe heat or cold.
Isolation and Family Separation: Since the start of the war, thousands of Palestinian prisoners, including women, have been denied family visits. Even legal visits have been severely restricted.
#### Prison Raids and Solitary Confinement
The frequency and brutality of Israeli prison raids on women detainees have intensified since September 2024, particularly in October 2024, when multiple raids were reported.
In a brutal raid by Israeli special units in October, female prisoners were forcibly strip-searched, had their clothes confiscated, and were left with only one set of clothes each. Some were detained in bathrooms during cell searches, while others had all their belongings, including shoes, confiscated.
Many Palestinian women have been arrested solely for expressing political opinions online. The Israeli occupation has escalated the practice of arresting people under allegations of “incitement” on social media, particularly targeting teachers, journalists, and activists. Currently, two women detainees are held under administrative detention, meaning they are imprisoned indefinitely without charge or trial.
In November 2023, 71 Palestinian women prisoners were released as part of a prisoner exchange deal during a temporary ceasefire. However, despite these releases, Israel has continued the systematic arrest of Palestinian women, particularly through captive-taking and violent interrogation methods.
The Commission for Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Prisoners’ Club have called on the United Nations and all member states to pressure Israel to abide by international humanitarian law, including ending the physical and psychological abuse of Palestinian women detainees, and ending Israel’s illegal detention of women in occupied territories, in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
In addition, the commission prohibited torture, inhumane treatment, and degrading practices, particularly during interrogation, holding Israel accountable for its crimes against Palestinian detainees, including sexual violence.
Shortlink for this post: [https://daysofpalestine.ps/?p=61199](https://daysofpalestine.ps/?p=61199)