Kenneth Glad
Women detained in northern Israel have raised concerns about sanitation and medical care. The footage documenting their complaints has since become the subject of an election-related legal challenge.
Palestinian female security prisoners at Damon Prison in northern Israel say they have been denied regular access to showers, water in their cells and adequate medical care, according to footage published by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.
The video is no longer available on Ben Gvir’s social media account, but it can still be viewed in TV 2’s coverage.
The women say they lack basic necessities, including water, showers and clean underwear, and warn that the conditions could increase the risk of illness inside the prison.
One of the prisoners identifies herself as a member of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which is designated as a terrorist organization by both the United States and the European Union. She says prison staff carry out repeated searches of the cells and describes restrictions affecting the inmates’ ability to maintain basic hygiene.
According to The Times of Israel, Ben Gvir posted the undated video on Aug. 30. In it, the women speak directly to him about their conditions at Damon Prison.
Their faces are blurred in the footage. The video also shows Ben Gvir defending his policy of keeping conditions for Palestinian security prisoners as restrictive as possible.
Ben Gvir stands by policy
Ben Gvir rejects the women’s complaints and compares their treatment with what Israeli hostages endured while being held in Gaza after the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023.
According to The Times of Israel, he says, “The days of summer camp in prisons in Israel are over.” He also says prison conditions have been reduced to the “bare minimum.”
Concerns about the treatment of Palestinian detainees have also been raised by Israel’s Justice Ministry Public Defender’s Office.
Reports released in January, based on inspections carried out in 2024, found cases of violence, food shortages, poor medical care and unsanitary conditions that were linked to outbreaks of disease.
The Israel Prison Service denied that unlawful violence was widespread and said specific allegations would be investigated.
Election complaint over video
The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel asked the Central Elections Committee to order the footage removed, arguing that prisoners were used for election campaigning and that the video violated their dignity and privacy.
The complaint comes less than two months before Israel’s Oct. 27 election and adds another political controversy around Ben Gvir’s prison policy.
German government spokesman Sebastian Hille said Chancellor Friedrich Merz strongly condemned the remarks as inhumane and contrary to international law.
France and the United Nations also have criticized Ben Gvir’s comments.
Sources: TV 2, The Times of Israel, AFP, Public Committee Against Torture in Israel,
