SAFA — The Palestinian Prisoners’ Soceity (PPS) has condemned Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s raid on the women’s section of Damon Prison alongside members of his family, describing it as a political spectacle that exploits the suffering of Palestinian female prisoners for incitement and propaganda.

In a briefing based on visits to Israeli prisons during August and early September, the group said Ben-Gvir entered two rooms holding female prisoners, filmed the raid and later published footage in which he threatened them.

According to testimonies cited by the PPS, the raid was followed by intensified punitive measures, including confiscating prisoners’ belongings for three days, denying them showers and access to the exercise yard, restraining their hands behind their backs, blindfolding them and filming them during the raid.

The group also warned of the spread of scabies and other skin diseases among Palestinian prisoners at Damon and Ofer prisons, linking the outbreaks to overcrowding, poor ventilation, inadequate hygiene supplies and insufficient medical treatment.

The PPS highlighted the case of 16-year-old Mohammed Hamid, who contracted scabies while detained at Ofer Prison. It said his condition deteriorated after months without adequate medical care, leading to severe infections affecting vital organs and ultimately the amputation of one of his feet. Hamid has since been released but remains hospitalised in serious condition after undergoing multiple operations.

The briefing also documented continued isolation, physical assaults, starvation and denial of medical treatment across Israeli prisons, alongside worsening health conditions among prisoners suffering from chronic illnesses.

The PPS called for urgent international intervention to protect Palestinian prisoners and end what it described as systematic torture, starvation, medical neglect and other abuses inside Israeli prisons.