Every year on April 17th, Palestinians mark “Palestinian Prisoners’ Day” – a national and human rights day to amplify the voices of detainees and highlight their suffering inside Israeli occupation prisons. The commemoration, established by the Palestinian National Council in 1974, serves as an annual reminder of one of the longest-standing and widespread Israeli crimes, affecting hundreds of thousands of Palestinians since 1967.
One Million Arrests.. A Collective Trauma
Data from Palestinian prisoner rights organizations paints a grim humanitarian picture:
Since 1967, Israeli authorities have made over one million arrests across all segments of Palestinian society, including over 50,000 children under the age of 18, and nearly 17,000 women and girls, many of whom were minors or mothers.
These staggering figures reflect not just the scope of the violations but also expose arrest as a strategic tool of repression by the occupation, meant to strip Palestinians of their rights through a full-spectrum system of oppression, from violent field interrogations to systematic medical neglect.
Administrative Detention – Detention Without any Charges
Administrative detention is one of Israel’s primary tools of repression. Since 1967, over 60,000 administrative detention orders have been issued against Palestinians without charges or trials, based on undisclosed “secret files” inaccessible to both the detainees and their lawyers, making this form of detention a clear example of forced legal disappearance.
As of early April 2025, Israel is holding around 3,500 administrative detainees, including 4 women and more than 100 children.
Current Situation: Over 9,900 Detainees
There are currently more than 9,900 Palestinian prisoners held in 27 prisons, detention centers, and interrogation sites, according to joint reports by the Palestinian Prisoners Club and the Commission of Detainees Affairs.
Among them:
- 29 women detainees
- 400 children
- Thousands from Gaza classified as “forcibly disappeared”
Specifically, 1,747 Gaza detainees have been labeled by Israel as “unlawful combatants” as of April 2025.
Testimonies from Hell: Torture Camps and Total Denial
Since the start of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, violations against prisoners have escalated. Human rights organizations have documented the creation of special military detention camps, such as:
- Sde Teiman detention camp – the most violent and torture-driven
- Rakefet
- Ofer Prison (as a special military section)
- Naftali, Menashe, and others
These camps are run by the Israeli army and lack any humanitarian detention standards. They are sites of enforced disappearance, deny visits from the Red Cross, and use the law itself — particularly the “Unlawful Combatant Law”— to legally justify ongoing violations.
Deaths in Detention: 300 Martyrs Since 1967
At least 300 Palestinian prisoners have died in Israeli custody since 1967 — 63 of them during the ongoing war. The occupation continues to withhold the bodies of 72 martyrs, the oldest case being Anis Dawla, held since 1980.
A recent case: 17-year-old Walid Ahmad, who died on March 24, 2025, in Megiddo prison, following systematic torture and starvation, according to legal and human rights testimonies.
Since Israel’s military campaign began, 16,400 new arrests have been recorded in the West Bank and Jerusalem alone, including:
- 510 women
- 1,300 children
This does not include thousands detained from Gaza, who have been transferred to prisons and military camps under complete secrecy — in conditions that human rights experts describe as “darker than Guantanamo.”
Compound Violations: Torture, Starvation, and Rape
Human rights reports highlight a surge in the following violations inside prisons:
- Severe physical and psychological torture
- Starvation and denial of medical care
- Sexual assaults and rape
- Denial of family visits and legal rights
Testimonies from Gaza detainees confirm systematic torture methods such as:
beatings until unconsciousness, suspension by limbs, electric shocks, and nude interrogations — amounting to full-fledged war crimes.
Stripping the Prisoners of Everything… Even Their Numbers
The Israeli authorities actively work to erase evidence of their crimes by:
- Turning detainees into nameless numbers
- Cutting off all contact with families
- Using prisoners as human shields
- Confiscating property and arresting family members as hostages
- Demolishing their houses and destroying their properties
Urgent Appeal to the International Community
Amid this systematic and brutal escalation, the Palestinian Center for Prisoners’ Advocacy renews its call to:
- Establish an independent, transparent international investigation committee
- Refer cases of detention and torture to the International Criminal Court (ICC)
- Impose sanctions on Israeli leaders responsible for war crimes
