Israel escalates crackdown on Palestinian Prisoners’ Movement

In recent years, the Israel Prison Service (also known as Shabas) has used severe torture and deliberate medical neglect as repressive measures against Palestinian prisoners. 

On Monday, June 30, Palestinian prisoners’ groups announced that Palestinian prisoner Lo’ay Nasrallah (22) passed away after being transferred to Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, in the southern territories occupied by Israel.

It is believed that fatal repressive measures by Shabas led to Nasrallah’s death, as his family has confirmed that he had no prior health issues before his detention.

The demise of the young prisoner raises the number of Palestinian detainees who have died in Israeli jails since October 7, 2023, to 73.

Ben-Gvir’s brutal crackdown on the Palestinian Prisoners’ Movement 

Israel’s Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has unleashed a brutal crackdown against the Palestinian Prisoners’ Movement since January 2023, with several repressive measures that have made detention conditions unbearable, including solitary confinement, severe torture, and deliberate medical neglect.

Meanwhile, the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) reportedly escalated arrest campaigns across the occupied West Bank during the first half of 2023, which resulted in the detention of 3,866 Palestinians, including 568 children and 72 women.

The situation for Palestinian detainees inside Israeli prisons has continued to deteriorate, while the number of prisoners has drastically increased, particularly in the aftermath of the October 7 attacks.

According to the latest report issued by the Palestinian Commission of Detainees and ex-Detainees’ Affairs‎, as of early June the number of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons is as follows: 

• The total number of Palestinian detainees exceeds 10,400. The actual number is presumed to be higher as it excludes individuals held in Israeli military camps.
• There are 49 female prisoners in Israeli jails, eight of whom are held under administrative detention without charge or trial.
• More than 440 Palestinian children are still imprisoned by Israel. 
• There are 3,562 Palestinians held under administrative detention with no formal charges.
• There are 2,214 detainees from Gaza classified as “unlawful combatants” in Israeli prisons. Palestinians from Gaza, who are detained in Israeli military camps, are not included in this figure, raising the likelihood that the total number is much higher.

Israel restricts freedom of released prisoners across the West Bank 

As part of Israel’s large-scale crackdown on the Palestinian Prisoners’ Movement, the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) have been systematically targeting freed Palestinian prisoners, mainly focusing on those released during the recent captives-for-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel.

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS) released a report in May, indicating that 13 prisoners released under the deal were re-arrested, while many others have been subjected to persistent harassment and persecution by the IOF.

For months now, the targeted freed prisoners and their families have endured frequent house raids, regular interrogations, physical abuse, confiscation of assets, temporary detention, and continued threats of potential re-arrest.

These arbitrary practices against the freed prisoners and their relatives are thought to be the “punitive measures” which Ben-Gvir has repeatedly called for against Palestinians. Collective punishment and restrictions on the movement of Palestinians in the West Bank, are part of these measures that violate international law.