The Palestinian Center for Prisoners Advocacy said the continued detention of Amina Shaher Mohammed al-Tawil, a media activist focused on prisoners’ issues who is pregnant and a mother of four, reflects a dangerous disregard for the lives of Palestinian women prisoners and places her unborn child at serious risk amid the absence of adequate health care inside Israeli prisons.
The center said al-Tawil is being held alongside about 90 Palestinian women prisoners at Damon Prison under dire detention conditions. It said Israeli prison authorities deliberately humiliate women prisoners, deprive them of the most basic necessities of humane life and subject them to daily psychological and physical pressure.
The center said the risk to al-Tawil is compounded by her pregnancy and her need for continuous medical monitoring and specialized care to ensure her safety and that of her unborn child. Such care, the center said, is unavailable in a prison environment marked by medical neglect, restrictions and deprivation, making her continued detention a direct threat to the life of her unborn child.
The center said al-Tawil is not merely another Palestinian prisoner at Damon Prison, but a mother of four children who have been deprived of her care and affection. It described her as a media activist known for defending the cause of prisoners and highlighting their suffering, saying her arrest carries a clear retaliatory character aimed at silencing her voice and humanitarian message.
The center said Israeli prison authorities continue to pursue a systematic policy against Palestinian women prisoners based on humiliation, degrading searches, mistreatment, denial of basic rights and deliberate medical negligence. It said these practices are intended to break the prisoners’ will, undermine their dignity and punish them for their national and humanitarian role.
The center stressed that holding a pregnant woman in harsh prison conditions without genuine medical guarantees constitutes a grave violation of international humanitarian law and requires urgent action by human rights and humanitarian organizations. It warned that any deterioration in al-Tawil’s health could directly affect the life of her unborn child and the mother’s safety.
The Palestinian Center for Prisoners Advocacy called on the International Committee of the Red Cross, human rights and women’s rights organizations, and UN special rapporteurs to intervene immediately to press for al-Tawil’s release, ensure she receives an urgent independent medical examination and closely monitor her health and the condition of her unborn child.
The center said al-Tawil’s case reveals another aspect of the compounded suffering endured by Palestinian women prisoners at Damon Prison, where detention is turned into a tool of retaliation against Palestinian women, mothers and activists. It said international silence gives Israeli authorities broader space to continue their violations.
