Palestinian detainees faced brutal treatment prior to release, monitor group says

02/06/2025 / By Belle Carter

Palestinian detainees being released under the Gaza ceasefire deal are reportedly subjected to severe torture and humiliation.
Head of the Palestinian Prisoners Society, Abdullah al-Zaghari, claims that most released Palestinians experience “systematic torture” in Israeli custody.
Reports describe horrific abuse, including burning detainees with boiling water, urination and severe beatings.
Overcrowding and poor conditions in Israeli prisons have led to the spread of diseases like scabies among Palestinian detainees.
Human rights organizations and the international community urge Israeli authorities to address systemic abuse and mistreatment in detention centers.

On Feb. 2, the Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) reported that Palestinian detainees being released as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal are subjected to severe torture and humiliation days before their release.

The report, which includes testimonies of prisoners being beaten and abused, has drawn international attention and raised concerns about the treatment of Palestinians in Israeli custody.

According to the head of the PPS, Abdullah al-Zaghari, the majority of released Palestinians are subjected to “systematic torture” prior to their release. (Related: Israel exchanges 183 Palestinian prisoners for three Israeli captives in latest Gaza swap.)

“This is an Israeli attempt to take revenge on them,” Zaghari said, urging mediators, including the Red Cross, to ensure the safety and dignity of released prisoners.

The abuse described in the report includes burning detainees with boiling water and urinating on them, according to Zaghari.

“There are horrific testimonies of prisoners being severely beaten before and after they were released from prison, especially prisoners who were released to the Gaza Strip,” he said. The report also notes that most prisoners suffer from diseases, including scabies, due to poor conditions in detention.

The treatment of Palestinian detainees in Israeli custody has been a longstanding issue, with multiple reports documenting severe abuse. In August 2022, the Israeli rights group B’Tselem accused Israeli authorities of systematically abusing Palestinians in detention, subjecting them to severe violence and sexual assault.

The B’Tselem report, titled “Welcome to Hell,” is based on 55 testimonies from former detainees and concludes that the abuse is a result of an “organized, declared policy of the Israeli prison authorities.” According to the report, at least 60 Palestinians died in Israeli custody in less than 10 months.

An investigation by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz has also revealed that a quarter of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons have been infected with scabies in recent months. The findings, which cited prison officials, were the result of a petition filed by human rights organizations.

Overcrowding and deliberate suffering

Physicians for Human Rights has raised concerns about the conditions in Israeli detention centers, including the lack of washing machines and insufficient clothes for prisoners. Ameena Altaweel, a researcher at the Palestine Center for Prisoner Studies, told Middle East Eye that Palestinian human rights institutions have persistently raised the alarm about disease in prisons.

According to Altaweel, overcrowding is the main reason for the spread of disease, as well as Israeli measures that she argues were deliberately employed to inflict suffering. “When we asked for treatment, they told us that we are terrorists and must die,” one prisoner quoted by Haaretz said.

The current situation, with over 10,400 Palestinians imprisoned, including at least 3,376 detained in administrative detention, highlights the ongoing issue of Palestinian detainees in Israeli custody. The treatment described in these reports is a stark reminder of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine and the human rights concerns that continue to plague the region.

The reports and testimonies from Palestinian detainees and human rights organizations highlight the urgent need for action to address the systemic abuse and mistreatment in Israeli detention centers. The international community and human rights organizations must continue to pressure Israeli authorities to ensure the safety, dignity and humane treatment of Palestinian detainees. As the conflict between Israel and Palestine persists, addressing these human rights concerns is crucial to promoting peace and justice in the region.

Head over to IsraelCollapse.com for updates on the release of Palestinian detainees in connection to the ceasefire deal.

Watch the video below where “prisoner of war” Fadia Al-Barghouthi talks about being held captive by Israelis.

This video is from FreePalestineTV on Brighteon.com.