At least 9,300 Palestinian political prisoners, including women, children, journalists, and lawmakers, are currently detained in Israeli prisons. About 49% of these individuals are held without charge or trial, according to a joint fact sheet released on Tuesday by the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs, the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society, and the Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association.
The organizations stated that this figure encompasses detainees in facilities operated by Israel’s prison service and noted that no accurate data is available for those detained in Israeli military camps. They reported approximately 21,000 arrests across the Occupied West Bank and Jerusalem, impacting all segments of Palestinian society, including 1,655 children and 650 women. This count does not include thousands arrested in the Gaza Strip since the recent escalation of violence.
The report described these arrests as a “fixed and systematic policy as dangerous as detention itself,” asserting that such actions have intensified since the onset of the conflict. There is a focus on refugee camps and villages affected by the expansion of illegal settlements. The report indicates that illegal settlement expansion and increasing settler violence are used as pretexts for mass arrests in areas such as the Masafer Yatta region in Hebron and Al-Mghayyir village in Ramallah.
Currently, 49 women are imprisoned, with two detained before October 7, 2023. This group includes two children, 16 women under administrative detention, and 24 mothers. Approximately 350 children under the age of 18 are held in Megiddo and Ofer prisons. Among those reported as having died in custody this year was Walid Khaled Abdullah Ahmed, a 17-year-old from Silwad, who reportedly died due to starvation in detention.
More than 3,350 Palestinians are held under administrative detention— a practice permitting imprisonment without charge or trial— as of December 2025. This group includes 15 women and numerous children. The report identified administrative detainees as comprising students, journalists, lawyers, doctors, academics, engineers, parliamentarians, workers, human rights activists, and relatives of prisoners or those killed by Israeli forces.
The groups reported that at least 11 Palestinians who died in custody since the escalation were held under administrative detention. Of the more than 9,300 Palestinian political prisoners, around 4,570 are detained without charge or trial, under separate legal frameworks depending on their location.
Since October 7, 2023, rights groups have observed a significant increase in the number of sick and injured Palestinian prisoners in Israeli facilities, citing that hundreds are currently afflicted with severe health conditions due to systematic methods such as torture and medical neglect.
The report mentions that 42 Palestinian journalists are presently detained in Israeli prisons, with the majority—40—arrested after October 7, 2023. The number of detained Palestinian parliamentarians is listed as nine, with notable leaders such as Marwan Barghouti and Ahmad Saadat among the longest-held.
Following the October 2025 prisoner exchange agreement, nine Palestinian prisoners detained before the Oslo Accords continue to remain incarcerated, and the total number serving life sentences stands at 115. Among the long-term prisoners detained before the Oslo Accords are Ibrahim Nayef Abu Mokh and Ahmad Ali Hussein Abu Jaber, among others.
The organizations claim that 323 Palestinian prisoners have died in Israeli custody since 1967, with over 100 killed or dying behind bars since the escalation, including 86 who have been identified. The report highlights allegations of torture, starvation, denial of medical treatment, and other inhumane practices as systemic and indicative of ongoing violations of human rights.
In 2025 alone, 32 Palestinian prisoners reportedly died in Israeli custody due to severely inhumane conditions. Additionally, Israel allegedly continues to withhold the bodies of 94 deceased prisoners, including 83 killed after October 2023.
The figures presented remain incomplete due to ongoing forced disappearances of detainee bodies in military camps. Rights organizations emphasize that these statistics over the past two years reflect an unprecedented level of brutality against prisoners.
Testimonies from former detainees, like that of Ahmad Hamdan Abu Ras from the Gaza Strip, detail alleged torture and abuse by Israeli forces during arrest and detention. Abu Ras described his harsh treatment post-arrest, which included being stripped, blindfolded, and beaten. He reported being held under shelling without food, water, or basic sanitation for 28 hours, allegedly used as a human shield.
After being transferred to multiple detention sites, Abu Ras reported severe torture during interrogation, including beatings and sensory deprivation, leading to permanent injuries. He described conditions in prison as harsh, marked by extreme cold, food shortages, and witnessing fellow detainees die from neglect.
The groups have called for independent international investigations into these reported violations of rights and treatment of Palestinian detainees.
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