SAFA — A video shows far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir entering sections holding Palestinian women at Damon Prison during a visit earlier in August 2026 and boasting about measures he said had reduced Palestinian prisoners’ living conditions to the lowest possible level.

During the visit, one Palestinian woman prisoner confronted Ben-Gvir over their detention conditions, saying Israeli authorities repeatedly raid their sections day and night, violating their privacy.

She said women prisoners were being denied basic rights, including access to usable water and adequate medical care, while some were prevented from showering for days and lacked essential personal items.

Ben-Gvir, meanwhile, boasted before the cameras about the restrictions imposed on Palestinian prisoners. He described himself as “primarily responsible for reducing the living conditions of Palestinian prisoners to the lowest levels possible,” saying he had eliminated what he called “privileges” and tightened prison conditions.

The incident comes amid increasingly harsh measures imposed on Palestinian prisoners by Israel’s National Security Ministry and Prison Service since Ben-Gvir took office in late 2022.

According to Palestinian prisoner advocacy groups and human rights organizations, the measures have included restricting food and water, canceling family visits, denying adequate medical treatment, conducting raids involving dogs and gas, carrying out strip searches and placing prisoners in solitary confinement.

Human rights organizations and prisoner advocacy groups have warned against using Palestinian prisoners for political point-scoring and said the measures imposed on detainees violate international standards and conventions governing their treatment.

The groups have called for international intervention to protect Palestinian prisoners from collective punishment, mistreatment and further deterioration of their detention conditions.