Gaza Herald-The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS) has warned that Israeli prison authorities are intensifying restrictions on Palestinian detainees under the ongoing state of emergency, while growing international attention on the conflict involving Iran is allowing violations inside prisons to escalate unchecked.
According to PPS spokesperson Amjad Al-Najjar, the Israeli prison administration has tightened its crackdown by reducing prisoners’ outdoor access, increasing abusive search procedures, carrying out arbitrary transfers, and imposing collective punishment. He stated that these measures are being used to conceal the psychological and physical abuses faced by detainees in Israeli prisons.
Al-Najjar added that the state of emergency grants Israeli authorities sweeping powers, which are being used to further restrict prisoners’ rights, limit access to legal counsel, and violate international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Conventions.
He stressed that the focus on regional developments, particularly the war involving Iran, must not divert attention from ongoing violations against Palestinian prisoners. Thousands of detainees—including women, children, the elderly, and the sick—continue to suffer from inadequate medical care, food shortages, the spread of disease, and severe overcrowding.
The Society called for urgent international protection mechanisms for Palestinian prisoners, including the deployment of independent fact-finding missions to assess detention conditions, increased pressure on Israeli authorities to end arbitrary measures, and the enforcement of international standards governing the treatment of detainees.
It also urged the International Committee of the Red Cross to resume regular and unrestricted visits to prisons, in order to monitor conditions and ensure detainees’ right to communicate with their families.
Al-Najjar emphasised that the issue of prisoners remains both a national and humanitarian priority, holding Israeli authorities fully responsible for their safety. He warned that continued international silence risks enabling further violations.
