Commission of Detainees Affairs reports two painful arrest testimonies of female detainees by Israeli forces

November 3, 2025

In a report released on Monday, the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs highlighted, based on its lawyer’s account, the harrowing experiences of two Palestinian women, Amani al-Najjar and Masa Ghazal, who endured verbal abuse, humiliation, and mistreatment during their arrest by Israeli occupation forces.

Amani al-Najjar, 41, from al-Fawwar village near Hebron, was summoned by an Israeli army officer who contacted her by phone and instructed her to appear at the “Zif” checkpoint. She arrived at around 1:00 p.m., where she was informed that she is under arrest. Her hands were cuffed, and she was taken to the Kiryat Arba detention center for questioning. Later, she was transferred to al-Moskobiya interrogation center, where she remained for 22 days, before being moved to Ramleh, then to the Hasharon transit facility, and finally to Damon Prison, where she is currently held.

Al-Najjar described the Hasharon transit center as extremely harsh. She said she was kept in a small, cold cell under constant camera surveillance, denied food and water, and forced to sleep on a thin mattress that caused her severe back pain. She added that Damon Prison is also in very poor condition, with difficult living circumstances and a shortage of food in both quality and quantity. The prison administration, she said, often punishes detainees for making even the slightest noise, laughing is forbidden, and they are silenced with insults and curses.

It is noteworthy that al-Najjar is a mother of five and works as an English teacher.

The report also detailed the case of Masa Ghazal, 23, from Nablus, who faced similar abuse. Israeli soldiers stormed her home around 1:30 a.m., ransacking its contents. Ghazal recounted:
“I was arrested without being allowed to prepare myself. I was still wearing my prayer clothes, and the weather was freezing. They blindfolded me, tied my hands, and took me to Huwara detention center. Later, I was moved to Ariel detention center, where I was kept sitting on the floor with my hands shackled while being interrogated. Afterwards, I was transferred to Hasharon Prison under very harsh conditions, and later to Damon Prison, where I was subjected to verbal abuse and repeated cell raids. The most recent one occurred on October 13, 2025, when the guards threw our food and bedding on the floor, poured tea on us, and punished us by denying recreation time for a week, simply because we had carved our names on the wall.”
Ghazal added that she has lost about 20 kilograms due to the poor quality and insufficient amount of food.
Currently, 50 Palestinian women are being held in Damon Prison.