Number of Female Prisoners in Occupation Prisons Rises to 90: Testimonies of Starvation and Strip Searches

The Palestinian Prisoner's Club announced a worrying increase in the number of Palestinian female prisoners inside Israeli occupation prisons, with their number reaching 90 this month. Human rights sources clarified that these female prisoners face extremely harsh detention conditions, ranging from physical and psychological abuse to systematic starvation policies practiced by the prison administration.

The majority of female prisoners are concentrated in 'Damon' Prison, located in the north of the country, where the rooms lack the most basic human and living necessities. Among the detainees are difficult humanitarian cases, including two underage girls, a pregnant prisoner in her third month suffering from a lack of necessary health care, in addition to two female prisoners battling cancer amidst deliberate medical neglect.

Data indicates that the occupation has escalated its use of administrative detention against women, with 25 female prisoners held without charge or trial. The list also includes three female journalists who were arrested due to their professional work, and two female prisoners who have been in detention since before the outbreak of the comprehensive confrontation last October, reflecting a targeting of all segments of Palestinian society.

The Prisoner's Club affirmed that female prisoners are subjected to grave violations that affect their dignity, most notably the policy of strip searches and physical and sexual assaults, which have recently increased in frequency. These measures are part of the occupation's attempts to break the will of female prisoners and impose a new reality characterized by complete isolation and deprivation of communication with the outside world or lawyers in many cases.

In a related context, the report noted that the number of arrests of women since the start of the genocide war has exceeded 700 cases, including areas of the West Bank, Jerusalem, and the occupied interior. Sources pointed out that these numbers do not accurately include detainees from the Gaza Strip, due to the policy of enforced disappearance practiced by the occupation against detainees in the Strip and preventing international organizations from visiting them.

The occupation authorities use the method of detaining women as hostages to pressure their family members to surrender themselves, a policy that falls under internationally prohibited collective punishment. Most of these arrests occur under the pretext of 'incitement' via social media platforms, a vague charge used by the occupation to justify the persecution of Palestinian female activists and human rights defenders in various regions.

It is worth noting that these developments come amid a comprehensive escalation within Israeli prisons, where the total number of Palestinian prisoners has risen to more than 9,600 prisoners. These violations coincide with the ongoing military aggression that has left tens of thousands dead and wounded, amidst human rights reports warning of the death of prisoners due to systematic torture and catastrophic living conditions.

Female prisoners face harsh detention conditions including starvation, deprivation, medical neglect, abuse, and the policy of strip searches.