cross-posted from: https://feddit.nl/post/50396758
In July 2024, B'Tselem published Welcome to Hell, a report on the treatment of Palestinian inmates in Israel's prison system and their confinement in torture camps under inhuman conditions. The report presented testimonies from 55 Palestinian men and women held in Israeli prisons and detention facilities since 7 October 2023.
The testimonies revealed the outcomes of a rushed process in which Israeli prison facilities, both military and civilian, were transformed into a network of camps dedicated to the abuse of inmates as policy. A space of this kind, in which anyone who enters is condemned to deliberate, severe, and unrelenting pain and suffering, functions de facto as a torture camp.
The present update reviews the situation of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel up to the beginning of January 2026. The transformation of Israeli prisons into torture camps for Palestinian inmates must be understood in the context of Israel's coordinated onslaught on Palestinians as a collective since October 2023, most prominently through the ongoing genocide in Gaza. The foundations of the regime shaped since the State of Israel was established, which are enabling the genocide in Gaza, rampant violence and ethnic cleansing in the West Bank and the persecution of Palestinians citizens of Israel, are also shaping the treatment of prisoners. First and foremost among them is the dehumanization of Palestinians as a group and the employment of extreme violence against them (for further reading, see B'Tselem July 2025 report Our Genocide).
This update revisits the categories of abuse listed in the original report, using them to assess the current situation and any new developments. It is based on 21 testimonies given to B'Tselem by Palestinians released under the agreement between Israel and Hamas in October 2025 or in the months preceding it. Many released prisoners are too afraid to give testimony, as – according to the witnesses we spoke to – Israeli authorities threatened to re-arrest anyone who shared information about their experiences in prison. The threats were issued both before and after the prisoners were released, illustrating how Israel uses deprivation of liberty as a key means of oppressing Palestinians.