RAMALLAH, West Bank / PNN/
As Palestinians mark the National Day of the Palestinian Woman on Sunday, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS) said Israeli authorities continue to hold 49 Palestinian women, including two minors and one detainee from Gaza, under harsh and degrading conditions in Israeli prisons and interrogation centres.
The PPS said the treatment of female prisoners has worsened since the start of the war on Gaza, which it described as the “bloodiest chapter” in Palestinian history. It accused Israel of committing “systematic and organized crimes” against women prisoners, including torture, starvation, medical neglect, and sexual assault.
The organization said the period following October 2023 brought a “dramatic deterioration” in prison conditions, citing documented cases of harassment and strip searches by female wardens. Detainees, it added, are routinely subjected to beatings, humiliation, threats of rape, and prolonged isolation, alongside the denial of family visits and basic needs such as hygiene products and heating.
According to PPS data, Israel has arrested at least 595 Palestinian women since October 7, 2023, across the occupied West Bank, Jerusalem, and inside Israel. The number of women detained from Gaza remains unclear, though dozens are believed to be held in Damon Prison.
Among the 49 women currently imprisoned are Tasneem al-Hams from Gaza and two minors, Sally Sadaqa and Hanaa Hammad. Twelve women, including Hammad, are being held without charge under administrative detention orders. Several detainees suffer from illness, including Fida’ Assaf, who has cancer and requires urgent treatment. The oldest prisoners are Shatila Abu ‘Ayadah and Aya al-Khatib, both detained before the war and from the 1948-occupied territories.
The PPS said Israeli forces have increasingly used the detention of women as a “hostage-taking tactic” to pressure male relatives to surrender. It cited cases involving the wives of prisoners and martyrs, as well as elderly women over 70, who were reportedly subjected to physical assault, home demolitions, and threats against their families.
Testimonies from Hasharon Prison described filthy, overcrowded cells lacking basic necessities, where detainees were beaten for refusing strip searches and forced to eat spoiled food. In Damon Prison, authorities have reportedly used deprivation of hygiene items, clothing, and heating as collective punishment.
The PPS said most women are held for expressing political opinions or for alleged “incitement” on social media, with many detained on the basis of secret evidence.
”These violations represent one dimension of the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people,” the organization said, calling on the international community to hold Israeli leaders accountable for war crimes and to impose sanctions to end what it described as Israel’s “culture of impunity.”
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