Among them are two girls and three pregnant women... Escalation of repression and starvation against female prisoners in "Damon"

SadaNews - The Palestinian Prisoners Club revealed today, Sunday, a serious escalation in the violations against Palestinian female prisoners inside the Israeli "Damon" prison, including repeated suppression operations, physical assaults, and policies of starvation and isolation. Currently, the occupation holds 88 female prisoners, including two girls and three pregnant prisoners recently arrested on charges of what the occupation claims is "incitement."

The club stated in a press release that the period coinciding with the recent war on Iran witnessed a "doubling of the escalation" inside Israeli prisons, especially in the frequency of systematic suppression operations. It pointed out that "Damon" prison is one of the most significant prisons that has witnessed this escalation, where the majority of female prisoners are held, along with some in investigation and detention centers.

Based on testimonies from female prisoners inside the prison and others who were recently released, the club confirmed that the suppression units of the prison administration carried out at least ten suppressive operations during March and April 2026. These operations included severe beatings, forcing female prisoners to lie on the ground with their hands tied behind their backs, before being assaulted while in this position by female and male guards, resulting in injuries to several of them.

It clarified that the suppression operations were recorded on the following dates: February 28, and March 5, 10, 17, and 30, and April 1, 3, 17, 21, and 23. The Prisoners Club added that policies of isolation have also escalated against female prisoners, with at least six female prisoners subjected to isolation, some of whom have been isolated for over two weeks.

The female prisoners also spoke about severe overcrowding in the cells, as arrest campaigns continue, with some cells housing more than ten female prisoners, forcing most of them to sleep on the floor.

The statement indicated that the crime of starvation has emerged as one of the most prominent policies applied against female prisoners, especially during Jewish holidays, noting that one female prisoner lost about 30 kilograms after several months of incarceration.

The club confirmed that female prisoners continuously face the policy of "naked searches," especially when being transferred to "Hasharon" prison or when being brought into "Damon" prison, describing these procedures as "humiliating and degrading searches," which fall under forms of sexual assaults experienced by prisoners.

It pointed out that several female prisoners suffer from chronic diseases, including two prisoners suffering from cancer, who are being deprived of medical care amid a continuous deterioration in their health conditions.

The club added that the majority of female prisoners are detained either based on what the occupation claims as "incitement" or under administrative detention orders based on "secret" files.

The Prisoners Club reiterated its demand for the release of arbitrarily detained female prisoners, especially the girls, the sick, and the pregnant, and to stop "all forms of crimes and organized violations" against them, considering these policies to be "a face of ongoing genocide against prisoners."

The statement noted that the occupation authorities have imposed, since the start of the war on Gaza, an "unprecedented reality" inside prisons, by "institutionalizing a system of structural torture" based on starvation, abuse, and assaults in various forms, including sexual assaults, in addition to imposing environmental conditions that contribute to the spread of diseases and epidemics, isolating prisoners from the outside world, and preventing their families from visiting them.

According to the Prisoners Club, the number of Palestinian prisoners in the occupation's prisons currently exceeds 9,400 prisoners.