Monthly Briefing on Palestinian Political Prisoners - August 2025

*The Commission of Detainees Affairs’, The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society, Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association.*

September 14, 2025

Ramallah, occupied Palestine - Israeli occupation authorities carried out 540 arrests of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem, during August 2025. Among them were 49 children and 19 women. The total number of recorded arrests in the occupied West Bank since the start of the genocide in occupied Gaza has risen to over 19,000, including more than 590 arrests among women and 1,550 arrests among children. These figures do not reflect the current number of Palestinian political prisoners – they include both those who remain in detention and those who were later released. They also do not include the total arrests among Palestinians in occupied Gaza, which are estimated to be in the thousands.

The Commission of Detainees Affairs’, the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society, and the Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association publish this monthly briefing based on lawyers’ visits to detainees among other documentation. Israeli occupation forces have consistently and relentlessly carried out mass arrests across the occupied West Bank, Jerusalem and Gaza since the genocide. This includes abducting residents of Gaza as they waited for humanitarian aid—aid that the occupation has turned into a trap for murder, arrests, and abuse.

Israeli occupation forces carry our night-time raids and the violent storming of homes, accompanied by the deliberate destruction of family internal and external property in a manner that resembles settler attacks. Detainees and their families are often subjected to physical assaults, threats of killing, and various forms of humiliation. In many cases, families are held hostage while soldiers loot money, jewelry, and electronic devices. Field interrogations are frequently conducted either inside homes or in makeshift military barracks. Most gravely, there has been a sharp and unprecedented rise in field executions since the start of the genocide.

The sharp rise in organized settler attacks in the occupied West Bank has led to an increase in mass arrests of residents, especially in villages and areas targeted by illegal settlement expansion, where dozens of civilians were arrested and interrogated in the context of escalating confrontations with illegal settlers.

The use of “administrative detention” – or detaining residents without trial or charge indefinitely – has continued to escalate, serving as a tool used by the occupation to suppress any form of active political, social, or cultural engagement. This policy targets a wide range of individuals, including students, journalists, human rights defenders, and former prisoners, aiming to dismantle the foundations of civil society. Today, administrative detainees make up over 32 percent of the total prisoner population, including women and children. Since the beginning of the genocide, approximately 90 percent of appeals and petitions filed against administrative detention orders have been rejected by the occupation’s courts, revealing their entrenched role as a central mechanism in legitimizing this policy through sham trials wholly controlled by the intelligence services.

The Reality for Prisoners

The Israeli prisons administration is committing widespread violations and crimes against Palestinian detainees. Testimonies gathered by legal teams during their visits reveal a worsening health catastrophe inside the prisons, with diseases spreading rapidly and severe weight loss reported as a result of deliberate starvation. Scabies skin disease is being used for further abuse, recently spreading widely in Ofer Prison amid growing concerns that it may return on a larger scale to Naqab Prison. Other forms of diseases are also developing. 

The occupation authorities continue their systematic repression operations against prisoners using various types of weapons, including electric shocks and rubber bullets. These assaults include women and children. Prisoners’ institutions have documented four large-scale crackdowns on female prisoners in August, during which they were subjected to degrading treatment, handcuffed, forced to kneel, strip searched, and sprayed with gas. In addition, assaults targeted sick prisoners, including a crackdown on ill detainees in the "Ramleh prison clinic," where they were sprayed with gas. It is worth noting that such crackdowns were among the causes that led to the killing of detainees after the genocide.

Martyred Detainees in August 2025

Due to the ongoing crimes in occupation prisons, 20-year-old Ahmad Saeed Tazaz’a from Jenin was killed in August 2025; his death was announced on August 3, 2025. He was held without trial or charge under “administrative detention”. It was also announced that 20-year-old Musab Abdulmonim Al-‘Aida from Hebron was martyred after being shot in the city of Hebron prior to his arrest, having sustained critical injuries.

Targeting of Imprisoned Leaders

During the month of August 2025, we witnessed a direct threat made against political leader Marwan Barghouthi by the fascist minister of national security Itamar Ben-Gvir, who stormed his cell in Rimon Prison. Prisoners’ institutions considered this act a direct threat to assassinate leader Barghouthi and the leadership of the Palestinian prisoners' movement in the occupation prisons, who are being subjected to assassination attempts through repeated assaults and continued solitary confinement since the start of the genocide. It is worth noting that Itamar Ben-Gvir has consistently and systematically incited the killing of prisoners and the execution of further systematic crimes against them. He has repeatedly appeared in footage from inside the prisons, showcasing his crimes and the assaults carried out by repression forces against the prisoners, while broadcasting more incitement against them and openly calling for their execution.

Palestinians Arrested From Gaza

The issue of Palestinian detainees arrested from Gaza continues to dominate the scene due to the level of crimes and atrocities they are being subjected to in Israeli occupation’s prisons and military camps. Prisoners’ institutions have recently documented additional testimonies from detainees abducted from Gaza held in these facilities.

One of the most notable recent visits was to the underground"Rakevet" section of Ramleh Prison, where detainees emerged weeping uncontrollably from the horrors they endure—continuous torture, abuse, starvation, and terror around the clock. The testimonies from the "Rakevet" section add to the hundreds already collected from Gaza detainees about the atrocities they have faced since the start of the genocide, including sexual assaults, some of which involved rape to death.

Bodies of Martyred Prisoners Still Held

On the occasion of the National Day for the Retrieval of Martyrs’ Bodies, marked annually on August 27, prisoners’ institutions documented the continued detention of 85 bodies of identified martyred Palestinian prisoners, including 74 held since the start of the genocide. The policy of withholding bodies remains one of the most prominent longstanding practices used by the occupation.

Enforced Disappearance

On the occasion of the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearance marked on August 30 each year, prisoners’ institutions renewed their affirmation that the occupation continues to commit the crime of enforced disappearance, which has also emerged as one of the most prominent issues resulting from the genocide.

This crime has targeted detainees and martyrs from Gaza and has been used as a cover to commit further violations, including acts of torture against detainees. Contributing to the entrenchment of this crime is the use of the "Unlawful Combatant Law," which was amended after the war and directly enabled the imposition of enforced disappearance on Gaza detainees.

Total Number of Palestinian Political Prisoners as of Early September 2025

As of the beginning of September 2025, the total number of Palestinian political detainees in Israeli occupation’s prisons exceeded 11,100, the majority of whom are held without trial or charge.

This figure does not include those held in military camps operated by the Israeli army. It represents the highest number since the outbreak of the Second Intifada in 2000, according to documentation available to institutions.

• 
  Female prisoners: Currently number 53, including two from Gaza.
  
  • Children: Over 400 to date.
  
  • “Administrative detainees” (held without trial or charge): 3,577 people, the highest percentage compared to sentenced prisoners and those held on charges, as well as those classified as “unlawful combatants.”
  
  • "Unlawful combatants" (held without trial or charge): 2,662 people. This figure does not include all Gaza detainees held in military camps and classified under this category. It is also noted that this classification includes Arab detainees from Lebanon and Syria.

                                                            (ENDS)

 Attached is a briefing paper in English about the occupation’s crime of withholding Palestinians’ bodies

to download the file click here

Minor detainees are taken to visits with heads covered in black bags… a blatant violation of their human dignity

”Minors Held in Harsh Conditions at “Megiddo Prison”

August 13, 2025

The Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs reported that the Israeli Prison Service continues to enforce abusive measures against detained minors, comparable in severity to those imposed on adult prisoners since October 7.
These children are kept in bare, empty cells, placed under heightened isolation, and denied family visits, part of the broader policy that has barred thousands of detainees from seeing their families.

The Commission explained that, in Megiddo Prison, minors are deliberately brought to family visits with their hands and feet shackled, blindfolded, and their heads covered with black bags. Upon entering the visiting room, the blindfold is removed, but their hands remain restrained in a way that makes holding the phone extremely difficult, while their feet remain chained. Despite repeated appeals from legal representatives to remove the restraints during visits, prison authorities consistently refuse.

Following a recent visit to the minors, the Commission’s lawyer reported that the prison cells fail to meet even the most basic international standards for the rights of children and detainees. They are filthy, infested with insects, poorly ventilated, and inadequately lit. The detained minors are subjected on a daily basis to verbal abuse, beatings, solitary confinement, sexual harassment, and collective punishment.

Update on the Number of Palestinian Political Prisoners in Israeli Occupation Prisons as of the Beginning of September 2025

The Total Number of Prisoners in Israeli Occupation Prisons Has Increased to More Than 11,000, the Most of Them Administrative Detainees Held Without Trial or Charge

* The total number of prisoners and detainees in Israeli occupation prisons as of the beginning of September 2025 exceeded 11,100. This number does not include detainees held in Israeli army camps. This is the highest number since the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa Intifada in 2000, based on documentary data available to institutions.
* Female prisoners: Their number to date stands at 49, including two from Gaza.
* Children: Their number to date stands at more than 400.
* Administrative detainees: Their number reached 3,577 detainees, which is the highest percentage compared to the number of prisoners arrested, convicted, and classified as "unlawful combatants."
* Detainees classified as "unlawful combatants": Their number reached 2,662. This number does not include all detainees from Gaza held in camps affiliated with the occupation army and classified as "unlawful combatants." It is worth noting that this classification also includes Arab detainees from Lebanon and Syria.

Palestinian Prisoner’s Society

 20-year-old Palestinian Dies Days After He Was Shot & Arrested by Israeli Occupation Forces

Palestinian Prisoner's Society & the Commission of Detainees' Affairs

August 25, 2025

Ramallah, occupied West Bank – Israeli occupation authorities have announced the martyrdom of the wounded Palestinian political prisoner, 20-year-old Musab Abdelmoneim al-Ayadeh, while he was hospitalized at the Shaare Zedek Israeli hospital in occupied Jerusalem.

Al-Ayadeh was shot by occupation forces in his hometown of Hebron in the southern occupied West Bank just four days ago - on August 21. He was then taken into custody despite his severe injuries, and brought before a military court on Sunday, August 24, at "Ofer" prison, which extended his detention.

The information of his killing was passed on to the Palestinian General Authority of Civil Affairs, which in turn informed the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS) who informed his family.

lsraeli occupation forces intended to execute al-Ayadeh when they shot him days ago, as had occurred with many other Palestinians who were killed. It later became evident that he was taken into custody and was being held at Shaare Zedek Hospital.

The killing of Al-Ayadeh adds yet another entry to the ever-growing record of Israeli brutality—field executions chief among them—which have reached unprecedented levels amid a genocide now almost in its second year.

The sharp and accelerating rise in the direct and indirect killing of detainees held in the Israeli occupation’s custody underscores its ongoing savagery. The prison system, in particular, has been fully weaponized as a tool of repression and extermination, systematically deployed to extinguish Palestinian lives behind bars. Not a single month passes without another name added to the long and growing list of martyred prisoners, a grim reflection of a regime that has normalized death as a function of its carceral machinery.

As prison crimes persist, the number of martyred prisoners is set to rise, with thousands held in conditions unfit for human life. Detainees face daily torture, starvation, assault, medical neglect, sexual violence, and deliberate exposure to infectious diseases like scabies. These are part of a broader system of deprivation designed to destroy from within.

With the martyrdom of the injured detainee al-Ayadeh, the number of identified martyred political prisoners since the beginning of the genocide rises to 77 people. Many others remain subject to enforced disappearances. This marks the bloodiest chapter in the history of the Palestinian prisoners’ movement, with 314 documented prisoner martyrs since 1967. The occupation continues to withhold 85 bodies, 74 of them killed since the start of the genocide.

We urge the human rights system to hold occupation leaders accountable, impose clear sanctions, and end the ongoing inaction that has enabled these crimes. If Israel continues to operate with impunity, as if above law and justice, these crimes will only continue and escalate, and the blood of Palestinians will only continue to be spilled.

Palestinian Prisoners’ Institutions Monthly Report
Arrests of Palestinians in Occupied West Bank & Jerusalem in July 2025

to download the report click here

Commission of Detainees Affairs highlights detention conditions of young detainee Nour Khalifa

August 31, 2025

The Commission of Detainees Affairs reported on Sunday the latest details regarding the case of 18-year-old detainee Nour Ahmad Khalifa from Kafr Ni’ma, near Ramallah. The update followed a visit by one of the Commission’s attorneys to Khalifa at Megiddo Prison.

Khalifa was taken into custody on March 4, 2025, after Israeli forces stormed his home late at night, ransacked the property, and assaulted him with batons and firearms. He was handcuffed and transferred to a nearby military site. The next morning, he was moved to Ofer Prison, then subjected to 18 days of interrogation at the Moscobiya center, before being transferred to Megiddo.

Since his arrest, Khalifa has lost more than 15 kilograms, the result of both a health setback and the inadequate quantity and poor quality of food provided to detainees.
He was initially placed under a four-month administrative detention order, which has since been extended. His detention is now scheduled to end on November 4, 2025.

Enduring Hell: Gaza Detainees Face Severe Israeli Torture and Terror Behind Bars

Briefing by the Commission of Detainees Affairs’ and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society

August 20, 2025


Ramallah, occupied Palestine – The Commission of Detainees Affairs’ and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society release this new briefing based on testimonies obtained – under strict conditions - by lawyers during visits to detainees conducted between late July and mid-August. The visits were conducted specifically in the underground “Rakevet” section of Ramla Prison, and the “Sde Teiman” military camp, both notorious for systematic torture of Palestinians arrested from occupied Gaza.

Those abducted from the occupied Gaza Strip are enduring the worst levels of torture and abuse compared with any other detainees.

Detainee (A.B.): “They put me in stress positions including the ‘mozeh’ (banana) position, during which I was beaten. This continued for 17 days, including once for 5 consecutive days. The interrogators would grab my testicles and beat me on them, trying to pressure me into confessing. They also blindfolded me and threw me from the chair to the ground. After being transferred to Ramla Prison, I was subjected to another round of interrogation, during which the guards broke my fingers."

Full report in English below 👇🏼

Enduring Hell: Gaza Detainees Face Severe Israeli Torture and Terror Behind Bars

August 20, 2025       

Briefing by the Commission of Detainees Affairs’ and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society

Ramallah, occupied Palestine – Nearly two years into the Gaza genocide and severe crimes against Palestinian political detainees held in the Israeli occupation’s prisons continue. Those abducted from the occupied Gaza Strip are enduring the worst levels of torture and abuse compared with any other detainees.

The Commission of Detainees Affairs’ and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society release this new briefing based on testimonies obtained – under strict conditions - by lawyers during visits to detainees conducted between late July and mid-August. The visits were conducted specifically in the underground “Rakevet” section of Ramla Prison, and the “Sde Teiman” military camp, both notorious for systematic torture of Palestinians arrested from occupied Gaza.

In the underground “Rakevet” section of Ramla Prison, detainees came to their lawyers’ visits weeping, terrorized.

All detainees had been threatened and beaten prior to seeing their lawyers. Prison guards attempted to force detainees to lie to their lawyers and tell them that everything is “excellent.” Lawyers were forbidden from sharing any information about detainees’ families - who remain in Gaza - or the ongoing genocide.

Key testimonies revealed the continued practice of beatings and finger-breaking, along with total isolation—detainees are denied sunlight and allowed out to the yard every other day for 20 minutes, handcuffed and forced to keep their heads down.

Mattresses are distributed at night and removed in the morning, forcing prisoners to sit on metal beds all day. Guards deliberately humiliate them with insults, including forcing them to curse their own mothers and families, alongside constant threats and psychological terror. Several prisoners came to their visits weeping and terrorized. One appeared to have been severely beaten—his face covered in tears, marks on his wrists from the handcuffs. He was unable to speak about what happened to him, only trying to signal to the lawyer with his eyes. His case is not isolated; all detainees showed severe psychological distress, with fear dominating the entire lawyers’ visit.

The interrogation period stands out as one of the clearest reflections of the level of torture and grave violations inflicted by interrogators against detainees abducted from occupied Gaza.

Detainee (A.Y.): "I was arrested in December 2023 and taken to the 'barracks,' where I stayed for eight days. During that time, I was subjected to four days of 'disco' interrogation. Later, I underwent further interrogation by the intelligence services and the army, then I was transferred to Asqalan Prison, where I was held in a cell for a month without knowing day from night, and subjected to very harsh military interrogations.

They would strap me to a chair and then throw me to the ground while my hands and feet were bound. I was beaten daily for 30 days straight. I currently suffer from torn chest muscles and severe pain due to prolonged shackling of my arms behind my back. After Asqalan, I was moved to Ofer Prison, where I was shown a screen with a map to locate my home and was questioned about several locations in Gaza."

Detainee (Y.D.): "I was interrogated in the field for an hour, then transferred to the 'barracks,' where I was beaten, and then placed under the 'disco' interrogation method, where I was severely beaten, suspended in stress positions, and lost consciousness several times. They poured water on me to wake me up. The beating was so violent that my handcuffs came off twice. I was struck violently on the head, and my hair was pulled out. Now I suffer from rib fractures and I can’t sleep. The torture also caused a tear in my left ear, vision impairment, and kidney pain."

Detainee (A.B.): "I was arrested on the second day of the war. I was already suffering from a jaw injury and had undergone surgery. After my arrest, I was transferred to Asqalan Prison, where I was held for a month and a half and was subjected to military interrogation. They put me in stress positions including the ‘mozeh’ (banana) position, during which I was beaten. This continued for 17 days, including once for 5 consecutive days. The interrogators would grab my testicles and beat me on them, trying to pressure me into confessing. They also blindfolded me and threw me from the chair to the ground. After being transferred to Ramla Prison, I was subjected to another round of interrogation, during which the guards broke my fingers."

Hunger and Disease Dominate Testimonies

All detainees who were visited confirmed they are suffering from extreme hunger — one described the situation as “famine.” They are given extemely small portions of food, often inedible. Detainees collect these scraps to form a single evening meal. The amount of food provided to an entire cell is barely enough for one person. Most are experiencing severe weight loss, emaciation, and extreme exhaustion, along with worsening illnesses and health conditions.

In addition to deliberate starvation, diseases and infections continue to spread — most notably scabies skin disease, which has become one of the most pressing health issues facing the prisoners. The prison system has actively continued to its spread by depriving detainees of basic hygiene and medical care, and refusing to eradicate it.

Main Facts About Palestinians Detained from Gaza

Since the start of the genocide, Israeli occupation forces have detained thousands of civilians from across the Gaza Strip — including women, children, the elderly, the wounded, as well as medical and press personnel.

In addition to the abuses mentioned in this briefing, Israeli occupation forces have carried out other severe acts such as rape, including raping detainees to death, as well as torturing and starving them to death.

The occupation also continues to commit the crime of enforced disappearance against hundreds of detainees abducted from Gaza, refusing to disclose their identities or locations of detention. To this day, the International Committee of the Red Cross is denied access to visit them.

Due to some recent legal amendments, human rights organizations have managed to uncover the fate of hundreds of detainees, gaining access to most prisons and detention camps — including “Sde Teiman”, a key site of documented torture and medical abuse, and the underground Rakevet section of Ramla Prison.

Amid these severe abuses, dozens of detainees have been killed in custody, in addition to others extrajudicially executed upon arrest. Of the 76 identified martyred political prisoners since the genocide began, 46 were people arrested from Gaza.

                                                            ****ENDS****

Abu Al-Hummos warns of escalating psychological abuse against detainees in Ofer Prison

August 8, 2025

The Head of the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, Raed Abu Al-Hummos, issued a warning on Friday over the mounting psychological abuse inflicted on detainees in Ofer Prison, describing the situation as rapidly worsening and extremely alarming.

His remarks followed his review of a report from the Commission’s lawyer, who had recently visited several detainees in Ofer. The detainees’ testimonies revealed serious threats to their lives, with a clear and deliberate focus on breaking their resolve and morale through systematic psychological exhaustion, aimed at rendering them mentally unstable and emotionally broken.

Abu Al-Hummos noted that the overall conditions inside Israeli prisons and detention centers are harsh and dangerous, and that Israeli policies toward detainees have reached unprecedented levels of severity. He stressed that the continued silence of the international community leaves Palestinian detainees, both men and women, abandoned to neglect and abuse, emboldening the occupation authorities to pursue even more extreme measures.

“The Commission’s lawyer documented the accounts of the detainees he met,” Abu Al-Hummos said. “They spoke in detail about their personal suffering and the general situation. Every account contained evidence of organized crimes that should have no place in the twenty-first century.”

The detainees, he added, described illnesses and pain caused by beatings, torture, insufficient and poor-quality food, lack of hygiene, deprivation of clothing and blankets, and being confined to their rooms around the clock amid overcrowding and the spread of contagious diseases. These hardships are further compounded by constant searches and raids, often accompanied by vile insults and verbal abuse, creating severe mental and emotional pressure that pushes them into states of shock and psychological trauma.

Abu Al-Hummos urged human rights and humanitarian organizations to pursue their responsibilities and break their silence, warning that neutrality comes at the cost of the detainees’ health, years, and lives. He stressed that it is unacceptable to leave these men and women at the mercy of the occupation’s brutality, terror, and entrenched racism, which strips them of their very humanity.