9,500 Palestinian Detainees… We Will Continue to Carry their Voices and Convey their Suffering
Our Celebration will be on the Day of their Freedom and their Return to the Embrace of their Loved Ones.
In cold cells and behind silent walls, 9,500 Palestinian prisoners spend their holiday in Israeli occupation prisons, including more than (350) children, (22) female prisoners, (3,405) administrative detainees, and 700 sick prisoners, all deprived of the most basic human rights. They remain far from their families and children, who wait for them with tear-filled eyes and hearts heavy with pain. Since October 7, 2023, the occupation authorities have completely shut the doors to family visits for prisoners, turning holidays into moments of sorrow and grief—no father›s embrace, no mother›s kiss, no children›s laughter able to break through those harsh prison walls.
Since that day, 63 prisoners have died in detention—some under brutal torture, others due to deliberate medical neglect. The conditions in which they are held are inhumane, devoid of mercy. Meanwhile, sick prisoners are left to suffer without treatment or care, leading to the spread of scabies among them, adding yet another layer of suffering to bodies already weakened by imprisonment and abuse. Many of the prisoners from Gaza remain forcibly disappeared, their fate unknown.
But this is not all. Systematic daily arrest campaigns have continued since the start of the war of extermination, with approximately 15,700 arrests in the West Bank alone, accompanied by escalating crimes and violations. These include severe beatings and abuse, threats against detainees and their families, the demolition of prisoners› family homes, the use of family members as hostages, and forcing detainees to act as human shields.
Since October 7, 2023, the campaign of arrests has also intensified against Palestinian children, who are thrown into Israeli prisons without mercy, stripped of their basic rights, subjected to psychological and physical torture during arrest and interrogation, and forced to confess under threats and beatings. They are held in inhumane conditions, without education, without adequate healthcare, and without protection.
These children do not know the meaning of Eid. They do not wear new clothes, nor do they wake up to gifts in the morning. Instead, they face the cruelty of their jailers, endless hours of interrogation, and the pain of separation from their families.
As for Palestinian female prisoners in Israeli jails, they endure harsh detention conditions, facing retaliatory measures such as solitary confinement, deprivation of medical visits, and humiliating and degrading treatment. They are held in Damon Prison under conditions unfit for human beings, denied medical care, forbidden from having books, and sometimes even from stepping outside. Repeated testimonies confirm that female prisoners face physical and psychological abuse aimed at breaking their spirit and determination.
What kind of Eid is this, where a father is denied the sight of his children? What kind of celebration is this, where a mother is deprived of embracing her sons and daughters? What joy can be found when the prison walls steal not only the prisoners’ years but also their very lives? For them, Eid is not marked by the dawn prayers but by the voices of jailers disrupting their restless sleep. It is not about new clothes but tattered garments and unbearable conditions. It is not about festive feasts but meager meals that neither satisfy hunger nor uphold human dignity.
Yet, despite all this injustice, the prisoners remain a beacon of resilience. They carry the hope of freedom in their hearts and believe that these chains will one day be broken. We will continue to raise their voices and share their suffering until the true Eid arrives—the Eid of freedom and their return to the embrace of their loved ones.
Freedom for our prisoners. Justice for our martyrs. Accountability for those who commit these crimes against them.
International Solidarity Organization
for Palestinian Prisoners
-Tadamon-