Hamas warns of systematic targeting of prisoner leaders in Israeli jails

The Prisoners’ Media Office of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) has warned of what it described as a dangerous escalation involving the direct targeting of leaders and prominent figures within the Palestinian prisoner movement held in Israeli jails.

In a press statement issued on Wednesday, the office said that leading prisoners are being subjected to brutal treatment aimed at breaking their will and turning them into tools of intimidation against other detainees. It said the alleged abuses include daily beatings, physical and verbal abuse, deliberate starvation, exposure to extreme cold, and the denial of winter clothing and blankets.

According to the statement, prison suppression units recently took several prominent prisoner leaders into prison yards, including Abdullah Barghouti, Bilal Barghouti and Ahed Ghalma, where they were allegedly beaten with batons until they bled. The office said the assaults were intended to break their morale and make an example of them to other prisoners.

The statement also referred to an escalation in psychological warfare against prisoner leaders, citing threats and security pressure directed at the family of imprisoned leader Marwan Barghouti, which it said were designed to instil fear and undermine morale.

The Prisoners’ Media Office held the Israeli occupation fully responsible for “crimes” committed inside the prisons and warned of their serious consequences. It said the treatment of prisoners constitutes war crimes under international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions.

The office called on international institutions and human rights organisations to take immediate action to halt the violations, provide protection for prisoners, and hold Israeli leaders accountable for what it described as ongoing crimes.