Terrorizing Families: Occupation forces crack down on Palestinian joy ahead of detainees’ release
The Red Crescent Society announced that its crews entered Ofer Prison, west of the town of Beitunia, west of Ramallah to transfer a sick prisoner scheduled for release, Wafa news agency reported on Monday.
According to the first phase of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza plan, the occupation authorities will release 250 Palestinian detainees from their prisons serving long sentences and life sentences, and 1,718 detainees from the Gaza Strip who were detained after the war began on October 7, 2023.
Ahead of their release, the occupation forces raided the homes of prisoners’ families in the West Bank, warning them not to hold public celebrations or show signs of happiness, according to Anadolu agency.
On Saturday, a circulated video showed the Zionist forces abusing Palestinian prisoners assembled at the Negev prison before their release.
The Palestinian Prisoners’ Information Office, which also published the video, said the incident “documents a painful scene showing the occupation’s brutal abuse of prisoners scheduled for release as part of the exchange deal”.
The Palestinian Prisoners Society said its lawyers visited dozens of prisoners, including women and children, in seven different occupation’s prisons throughout September.
Testimonies from detainees revealed that the Zionist prison system continues to commit systematic inhumane treatment and acts of brutality, the Society said in a statement.
It stressed that repression tactics inside the prisons have escalated, particularly through the increased use of electroshock and plastic bullets. It also emphasized that scabies has spread widely in Negev and Ofer prisons.
According to prisoners’ accounts, detention conditions remain unchanged with no signs of improvement, including the lack of adequate food, which leaves them in a state of constant hunger, while being deprived of basic necessities.
The statement underscored that Negev prison, one of the largest facilities where thousands of Palestinian detainees are held, has become a center of repression, torture, and assaults since the start of the war in Gaza.
The prison has also turned into a hotspot for the spread of diseases and epidemics, which has led to the deaths of many detainees, the source added.
Prisoners further reported severe shortages of clothing, with some saying they have been unable to change their clothes for six months.
The statement also highlighted testimonies from female detainees in Damon prison, who described suffering from repression, strip searches, beatings, and denial of their special needs.
“The crimes being committed have reached a level that can no longer be described in words,” the society declared, calling on the international community to take urgent action.
The Zionist occupation currently detains over 11,100 Palestinians in its prisons, subjecting them to torture, starvation, and severe health crises.
