RAMALLAH, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), The Palestinian Prisoner Society (PPS) has held the Israeli prison service fully responsible for what happened to Palestinian prisoner Ghassan Zawahra, who sustained injuries after jailers opened fire at him three times in captivity.
In a statement on Wednesday, PPS condemned the assault on prisoner Zawahra as a “premeditated attempt on his life.”
“Prison forces fired rubber bullets at prisoner Zawahra inside the Negev prison after transferring him there from the Ganot–Ramon prison on June 8. From the moment of his transfer, he was subjected to humiliating strip searches that violated human dignity, accompanied by a brutal and severe beating at the hands of soldiers,” PPS explained.
“Prisoner Zawahra faced, on June 17, another violent assault at the hands of soldiers from the Metzada unit, which fired rubber bullets at the prisoners, injuring him in the thigh,” PPS said.
In a recent testimony, Zawahra said that he suffered severe wounds and heavy bleeding after prison forces intentionally targeted him with rubber bullets for a third time before they dragged him from the cell block, adding that he tried to stand and walk, but collapsed unconscious in the prison yard due to severe blood loss and an inability to move.
“Then one of the jailers came and cut my pants at the knee to examine the injury before dragging me to the infirmary. After that, I lost consciousness again. When I regained awareness, I found myself inside the infirmary surrounded by jailers, who continued to insult and humiliate me. One of them asked the doctor: ‘Where should we put this dog?’ referring to me. Then they brought me an ordinary chair, after which I lost consciousness again. Later, I was transferred to Soroka Hospital, where I underwent surgery. That same day, immediately following the operation, I was placed back into a prison vehicle and assaulted once again with batons,” the prisoner elaborated.
PPS emphasized that the testimony provided by Zawahra was only a fraction of what he endured as he was only permitted to disclose certain details publicly.
Prisoner Zawahra is a former detainee who has spent a total of 17 years in Israeli jails, including seven years serving actual prison sentences and the rest in administrative detention.
Israeli forces rearrested him in February 2025 and placed him again under administrative detention. He is the brother of martyr Moataz Zawahra, and his other brother, Mohamed, had previously been arrested as well.
