Living Hell: The Israeli Prison System as a Network of Torture Camps

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.