WEST BANK, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), The Palestine Center for Prisoner Studies has warned that approximately 9,400 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons face worsening conditions as winter approaches, amid continued deprivation of warm clothing, blankets, and heating for more than three years, alongside deteriorating living and health conditions inside prisons and detention centers.
Riyad al-Ashqar, director of the center, said Israeli occupation authorities have continued to deny prisoners access to clothing and blankets since October 7, 2023, while suspending family visits and closing prison commissaries, which prisoners previously relied on to purchase basic necessities.
In a statement issued by the center, al-Ashqar explained that Israeli authorities have prevented international organizations, including the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), from delivering clothing to prisoners.
Meanwhile, prison authorities have confiscated prisoners’ personal belongings, including clothing and blankets, and removed mattresses and remaining bedding from rooms and cells during daylight hours.
Al-Ashqar added that prisoners have been forced to use the same clothing and blankets for extended periods without being able to wash or replace them, contributing to the spread of skin diseases, particularly scabies, amid inadequate medical care and a lack of necessary treatment.
Freezing conditions deepen suffering of Palestinian prisoners
According to al-Ashqar, prisoners held at the Negev, Ramon, and Nafha prisons face particularly harsh conditions because these facilities are located in desert areas where temperatures drop sharply during winter.
Some prison sections consist of tents that provide inadequate protection against the cold and allow rainwater to seep inside, soaking clothing, mattresses, and personal belongings.
These conditions are not limited to prisons. Detainees held in detention and interrogation centers also face severe hardship because of shortages of winter clothing, blankets, hot water, and heating, according to the center.
Al-Ashqar explained that detainees arrive at these facilities wearing only the clothes they had on when they were arrested, without being allowed to bring additional clothing.
They then face further shortages of essential supplies when transferred to prisons, intensifying their suffering as temperatures fall.
Gaza prisoners face heightened risks as winter approaches
Conditions are even more alarming for Palestinian prisoners from the Gaza Strip, who face particularly harsh detention conditions as winter approaches.
Al-Ashqar said approximately 2,000 prisoners from Gaza remain in Israeli custody, according to the center’s estimates, and are being held in conditions lacking the most basic necessities of life.
The center cited testimonies from recently released Gaza prisoners who reported that some detention facilities provided only thin, dirty blankets and old, worn-out mattresses.
They also described poor-quality and insufficient food, with some sick prisoners denied meals appropriate for their medical conditions.
According to testimonies collected by the center, prisoners have also been subjected to measures that include being forced into outdoor yards in freezing weather while wearing light clothing, having their hands restrained, and being made to sit for hours on rain-soaked ground.
Al-Ashqar warned that the continued deprivation of clothing, blankets, and mattresses, combined with the isolation of Gaza prisoners from the outside world and the denial of visits, increases the risks to their lives as temperatures drop.
He stressed that these dangers are compounded by the difficulty of verifying prisoners’ well-being or monitoring the conditions in which they are being held.
Children, women, elderly prisoners, and sick most at risk
Al-Ashqar emphasized that children, women, elderly prisoners, and those suffering from illnesses are among the most vulnerable to the effects of cold weather.
He warned that the lack of appropriate clothing and heating, combined with malnutrition and inadequate medical care, could lead to a serious deterioration in their health.
The center called on international organizations and human rights groups to intervene urgently to protect Palestinian prisoners and pressure Israeli occupation authorities to allow the delivery of winter clothing, blankets, and mattresses, as well as provide adequate heating and other essential supplies.
Al-Ashqar also stressed the need to guarantee prisoners access to necessary medical care, particularly those who are sick or injured.
He warned that continuing to deprive Palestinian prisoners of the most basic necessities of life as winter approaches threatens to deepen the health and humanitarian crisis inside Israeli prisons and detention centers.
