On Arab Mother’s Day: 14 Palestinian Mothers Languish in Israeli Prisons
Briefing by the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs, Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS) & Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association.
March 21, 2025
Ramallah, Palestine – At least 14 Palestinian mothers are being held in Israeli occupation prisons, prevented from any kind of contact with their children - who are likewise suffering - prisoner rights groups said today on the occasion of Mother’s Day in the region.
Palestinian women, like all segments of Palestinian society, are living through the most violent period in the history of the occupation. Female political prisoners, in particular, are undergoing the worst conditions yet including sexual assault, maltreatment, torture and abuse.
As part of its ongoing genocide and heightened violence, the occupation’s mass arrest campaigns have targeted tens of thousands of Palestinians, including women and mothers. The rate of arrests among women has reached the highest figure historically, with the occupation military carrying out at least 500 arrests among women. The arrests included abducted women, including mothers, wives and sisters, who were used as hostages to pressure their male family members into surrendering.
Palestinian Mothers: Arrest, Isolation, and Endless Suffering
The abuse of Palestinian mothers begins from the moment that their homes are violently raided by dozens of occupation soldiers, often in the late hours of the night, when she is torn away from her children at gunpoint amidst the screams of her little ones, with soldiers deliberate abusing her in front of their eyes.
Her suffering does not end with the arrest; it continues through the harsh transportation and interrogation processes, where she faces humiliation, psychological and physical torture.
Like all Palestinian political prisoners, female detainees have been denied all family visits since the start of the genocide in October 2023. Occupying authorities have isolated the prisoners from the outside world entirely, preventing even the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) from carrying out visits, and placing obstacles on lawyers' visits to prisoners.
Detention and Interrogation Centers
After arrest, the suffering of female prisoners shifts to the occupation’s interrogation centers, where they are subjected to harsh interrogation methods. They are forced to stand for long hours in inhuman conditions, deprived of sleep and food, and face continuous threats of violence in all its forms, aimed at extracting confessions or obtaining information. Many of them are denied the right to speak with their lawyers, which exacerbates their suffering and leaves long-term effects on their physical and mental health.
Damon Prison: Brutality and Inhuman Detention Conditions
The occupying power holds the vast majority of female political prisoners in the Damon prison, considered one of the main detention centers for Palestinian women. In this prison, female prisoners face severely difficult conditions that significantly worsened after October 7th, 2023. The female detainees have been subjected to continuous assaults, including solitary confinement and abuse by prison repression units, in addition to the confiscation of all their personal belongings and denial of their most basic rights, including the right to communicate with their families and children.
As part of these ongoing violations, the prison administration has implemented a policy of starvation, denying the female prisoners - like the rest of the detainees - the ability to purchase food items through the prison canteen and providing them with poor meals in terms of both quantity and quality. They also face deliberate medical neglect. Furthermore, overcrowding in the prison has increased the suffering of the female prisoners, as many of them were forced to sleep on the floor due to a severe lack of clothes and blankets, which worsened with the cold weather. Some prisoners were forced to wear the same clothes they were arrested in for long periods without being able to change.
Deprivation of Medical Care as Policy
The Israeli occupation has practiced a variety of medical crimes against female detainees for decades. Many female prisoners are denied the necessary medical care despite suffering from chronic illnesses or injuries sustained during their arrest. They are deprived of essential medications, and some experience severe delays in receiving treatment, which exacerbates their health conditions.
Among the female prisoners, at least one is pregnant in her third month. She is a mother of two daughters, and is suffering from difficult health conditions due to deliberate medical neglect. This prisoner, like others, is not given adequate care, and her rights to undergo necessary tests or receive essential treatment to protect her health and the life of her unborn child are denied.
This neglect is a flagrant violation of the rights of incarcerated pregnant women and heightens their psychological and physical suffering in the absence of medical care. Additionally, they are deprived of high-quality meals, and the severe shortage of food prevents the pregnant women from receiving the necessary nutrients to ensure their own health and the health of her baby.
Mothers of Prisoners: Constant Worry and Total Disconnection
It is not only the prisoners who endure the bitterness of isolation and deprivation, but their families and mothers outside the prisons also suffer. Thousands of Palestinian mothers live in constant worry about the fate of their detained children, unable to comfort them or hear their voices. Today, all prisoners, without exception, are deprived of communication with their families due to the oppressive measures of the occupation, which prevent visits and have barred all means of communication.
Among the Palestinian mothers behind bars is Hanin Jaber, from Tulkarem, who has lost two sons. Another mother suffers from cancer - “F.A.” from Qalqilya. Two sisters, Iman and Afnan Zuhour from Hebron, are both mothers. Additionally, there is a mother and daughter detained together from Nablus, Dalal al-Halabi and her daughter Islam, as well as Ayah Al-Khatib, who has been detained since before October 7th, 2023.
Arrests of Women in Gaza amid Genocide: Ongoing Suffering and Harsh Stories
After the genocide and the ground invasion launched by the occupation in the Gaza Strip, many Palestinian women were abducted from there under inhumane conditions. An unknown number of them were detained as part of a systematic policy aimed at taking revenge on the Palestinian people, particularly mothers. The arrests included women of various ages, including mothers, students, activists, and even minors. The majority of those arrested have been subject to enforced disappearances.
Among these painful stories is that of an elderly woman from Gaza who is incarcerated despite her old age. The daughter of this woman was also detained with her before being released. The mother continues to endure severe pain and suffering from the effects of aging and illnesses exacerbated by medical deprivation.
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