West Bank30 August, 20263 min read
Itamar Ben Gvir Storms Palestinian Women Prisoners’ Cells, Boasts Conditions Worsened
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Ben-Gvir enters Damon Prison female wing, posts video bragging about harsher conditions. He said he is directly responsible and pleased with the detention conditions.
29 outlets told this the same way.
The Jerusalem Post was read line by line by the Watchdog: 5.8. See the score →
Ben-Gvir raids women’s cells
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir stormed the cells of Palestinian women prisoners and boasted that conditions had worsened, saying in a video posted on his X account, “The good conditions that existed in the prisons are over.” The footage described a prisoner saying, “This is our third day without showering,” and adding that she was “not receiving medical treatment, and our clothes are not clean.” Ahram Online said Ben Gvir has pursued policies since taking office in late 2022 that include measures of systematic torture involving starvation, abuse, and assaults, including sexual violence, as well as unhygienic conditions contributing to the spread of disease.
“The good conditions that existed in the prisons are over.”
Ahram Online also cited the Palestinian Authority’s Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs saying around 9,400 Palestinians are held in Israeli prisons, including 88 women and more than 350 children. The Palestinian Prisoners Club condemned Ben Gvir’s filming and publication of footage, telling Al Jazeera that his repeated videos “highlighted his role in inciting against them.”
“Minimum” treatment and backlash
Al-Jazeera Net reported that Ben Gvir threatened to apply the 'minimum' in the treatment of Palestinian female prisoners and posted footage of the raid with the comment, “The cries of the terrorists about their prison conditions do not deceive me; our hostages did not have any good conditions to mention.”
In the same account, Ben Gvir added, “I will continue to implement a policy limited to the minimum treatment.”
Al-Jazeera Net said the Palestinian Prisoners Club described the raid as “an assault on their human dignity,” and it told Al Jazeera that Ben Gvir’s appearance in the women’s section and publishing clips revealed an incitement role.
Ammon News said Ben Gvir boasted that he was directly responsible for imposing harsher conditions on Palestinian prisoners, stating, “The good conditions in the prisons are over. This is the current situation, and I am directly responsible for everything.”
Ammon News also said the video came on Sunday and that the footage showed a female prisoner describing detention as “extremely poor” and saying prisoners were being denied basic rights and personal necessities.
Numbers held and what’s at risk
Ahram Online said the Palestinian Authority’s Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs put the number of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons at around 9,400, including 88 women and more than 350 children. Al-Jazeera Net described the Palestinian Prisoners Club pointing to “hundreds of documented testimonies” about what it called “grave abuses inside Israeli prisons and detention camps.” Ahram Online said Ben Gvir’s policies have included restrictions on necessities, prolonged isolation, and limits on prisoners’ contact with the outside world, including a continued ban on family visits.
Ammon News said Ben Gvir’s approach since late 2022 has included measures involving food deprivation, mistreatment, physical abuse and other forms of abuse, as well as restrictions that contributed to the spread of disease and continued restrictions on family visits. Against that backdrop, Al-Jazeera Net reported the Palestinian Prisoners Club’s view that Ben Gvir’s filming and publication of footage constituted “an assault on their human dignity,” framing the raid as an escalation of repression rather than a one-off incident.