Palestinian in Israel’s Etzion Prison suffer severe inhumane conditions

Palestinian detainees imprisoned in the Israeli prison of Etzion, located south of Bethlehem in the southern occupied West Bank, are enduring severe and inhumane conditions.

According to the Detainees and Ex-Detainees Commission, a lawyer was able to visit several detainees who verified the insufferable conditions within the detention centre and reported various forms of mistreatment and torture.

In a recent incident, detainee “A.R” was brutally beaten on his feet and hands with sticks and rugs during detention and interrogation, resulting in scratches and marks all over his body.

Another Palestinian detainee, “A,” also suffered severe assault when Israeli soldiers threw him to the ground while shouting and cursing at him, using cameras to provoke and pressure him in a dehumanising manner.

The Commission emphasised that these documented cases are only small examples, noting that all detainees in Etzion are suffering under extremely harsh conditions without exception, and are subjected to severe beatings.

Moreover, it urgently called on all relevant authorities, particularly international institutions and human rights organisations, to intervene and save the detainees from this brutal treatment, which violates basic human rights guaranteed by international laws and regulations.

Thousands of prisoners are held in Israeli jails across the Palestinian territories and Israel, many under administrative detention. The number of detainees has surged dramatically since the onset of Israel’s deadly military operation in Gaza over nine months ago.

Some 9,700 Palestinians have been detained since 7 October 2023, explained the Palestinian Prisoners Club, including those who were arrested and then released. Some 325 women and 670 children are among them.

The human rights NGO said in a statement: “The number of prisoners and detainees in the occupation prisons reached about 9,700 as of the beginning of July.”

It added that this number includes 3,380 administrative detainees – held without charge or trial, 250 children, about 80 female prisoners, including two pregnant women.

Israeli occupation forces and settlers have escalated their attacks in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, leading to the death of 589 Palestinians since October 2023, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

READ: Gaza death toll rises to 39,145 as Israel kills 55 more Palestinians