Palestinian women complain of abuse in Israeli prisons

Women prisoners report physical abuse, solitary confinement, beatings, fines and the denial of food and visits.

2 min read

06 July, 2017

The treatment of Palestinian prisoners has led to demonstrations against the prison service [Anadolu]

Dozens of Palestinian women prisoners are being held in Israel's Damon prison where they are allegedly being subject to various forms of abuse by prison staff, says Issa Qaraqe, the head of the Palestinian Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs.

Inmates at the Damon prison in Haifa reported physical abuse, solitary confinement, beatings, fines and the denial of food and visits to Palestinian lawyer Hanan al-Khatib.

Khatib reported that on Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim holiday which marks the end of the month of Ramadan, women prisoners were "denied from celebrating" due to violence against them at the hands of the Israeli Prison Services.

Prison workers had "stormed into" cells and beat women prisoners, they reported. They also imposed a number of sanctions against them, including the forced transfer and solitary confinement of two women - Shirin Issawi and Dalal Abu Al-Hawa.

Read also: Broken promises and shattered hopes: Israel revokes visitation rights for Palestinian hunger striker's families

Shirin Issawi, a prominent Palestinain lawyer, was last year imprisoned for being in contact with prisoners. She is also the sister of Samer al-Issawi, a Palestinian prisoner who led a 266-day hunger strike between 2012 and 2013.

Two other women, Sabah Faroun and Amani al-Hashim, were also placed in solitary confinement within the prison itself.

Shirin Issawi is understood to still be in solitary confinement.

Follow us on Twitter: @the_newarab