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Inside Israel's penitentiaries, harsh treatment has transitioned from an informal reality into an explicit, state-directed policy, according to testimonies from released prisoners and human rights organizations. At the center of this shift is Israel's National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, who oversees the correctional facilities and has openly celebrated the deteriorating circumstances under which Palestinian detainees are held.
Ben-Gvir has frequently used his public platforms to highlight what he frames as key achievements during his nearly four years overseeing the prison administration. In one prominent instance, the minister shared an artificial intelligence-generated video portraying well-nourished Palestinian men being ushered along a conveyor belt into a facility and emerging emaciated and weeping under the slogan "We promised, we delivered." The controversial recording was later deleted following intense public criticism and comparisons to Nazi concentration camps.
In another broadcasted confrontation, Ben-Gvir filmed himself interacting with female detainees who voiced grievances over basic rights. When one incarcerated woman explained that she had been deprived of showers for three days and was being denied medical care, Ben-Gvir responded dismissively, asserting that the era of favorable conditions was over and declaring that he was directly responsible and pleased with the outcome.
For former detainees like Palestinian photojournalist Muath Amarneh, such promotional footage obscures the far darker reality occurring off-camera. Amarneh highlighted that the short snippets released by Israeli authorities merely showcase ministerial arrogance while hiding the extensive abuse inflicted upon prisoners. According to Amarneh, brief recorded interactions are routinely preceded and followed by lengthy sessions of physical beatings and humiliation that are concealed from the general public.
Amarneh, a 39-year-old resident of the Dheisheh refugee camp located south of Bethlehem, has personally experienced this punitive environment through multiple incarcerations. His history of confrontation with Israeli forces dates back years into his journalism career, including a 2019 incident in which he was struck by a rubber-coated metal bullet near Hebron while wearing a press vest. That shooting cost him his left eye and left shrapnel permanently embedded near his skull.
Following the outbreak of the war in October 2023, Amarneh was arrested and placed under administrative detention—a mechanism allowing imprisonment without charge or trial. He spent nine months divided between Megiddo and Nafha prisons before his initial release, experiencing firsthand the stark transformation of Israel's correctional regime.
Seeking to mitigate the dangers of further detention, the photojournalist subsequently stepped back from daily news coverage to focus instead on documentary projects. However, the change in focus did not protect him; in August 2025, Amarneh was seized once again and held for eight months at Ofer prison without any charges filed against him, a detention he described as punishment merely for his media profession.
Amarneh’s experience reflects a dramatic surge in the use of administrative detention across the occupied territories. According to Addameer, a Palestinian prisoners' advocacy organization, the population of administrative detainees has climbed to approximately 3,200 individuals. This figure represents more than double the estimated 1,300 people who were detained without charge prior to October 7, 2023, despite ongoing attempts by Israel and the United States to delegitimize Addameer through terrorism allegations that the group firmly rejects.
Sahar Francis, a lawyer and former executive director of Addameer, emphasized that while administrative cruelty predated Ben-Gvir’s appointment, his leadership significantly magnified institutional abuse. Francis noted that from his first day managing the prison service, Ben-Gvir immediately shut down the two dedicated bakeries that supplied bread to Palestinian detainees.
The onset of the post-October 2023 period marked a further descent into systematic deprivation. Authorities instituted sweeping restrictions that severed inmates from the outside world, completely suspending family visits and visits from the International Committee of the Red Cross. Legal counsel was also heavily restricted, with lawyers barred from accessing their clients during the first four to five months of the conflict.
Daily living conditions within the facilities were systematically dismantled as wardens confiscated personal clothing, food supplies, and reading materials, reducing detainees to surviving with only a single change of clothes. In Amarneh’s case, he was forced to wear the same pair of trousers for 90 consecutive days amidst collapsing hygiene standards.
Medical infrastructure inside the penitentiaries was effectively dismantled as health clinics were closed down. Concurrently, specialized security units initiated daily raids across prison wings, subjecting incarcerated Palestinians to severe physical assaults. Francis indicated that these violent practices have directly resulted in multiple prisoner fatalities in custody.
According to Francis, the scale of state-sanctioned violence has regressed to levels comparable to the earliest phases of the occupation. She stressed that while torture was always present, the recent period has brought an unprecedented wave of brutality characterized by severe physical violence, harassment, and sexual abuse against detainees.
The physical consequences of these policies have been devastating for those subjected to them. Across his two periods in detention totaling nine months, Amarneh lost 35 kilograms (77 pounds) due to enforced starvation and neglect. Reflecting on his time behind bars, he emphasized that Israeli facilities have undergone a complete transformation from challenging detention centers into uninhabitable environments fundamentally unfit for human survival.
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