130 Palestinian women, girls detained since start of year

The Palestine Center for Prisoners Studies has documented 130 cases of detention involving Palestinian women and girls from the West Bank and Occupied Al-Quds since the beginning of the year, as Zionist regime’s occupation forces continue to target Palestinian women with arrests, abuse and field interrogations amid harsh conditions facing female prisoners in Israeli prisons.

In a statement, the center said arrests of Palestinian women have risen sharply since October 7, 2023, reaching approximately 800 cases. It said the arrests are part of a policy of retaliation and collective punishment, with most cases based on broad accusations, including social media posts classified by Zionist regime’s occupation authorities as “incitement.”

The center said the figures do not include female detainees from the Gaza Strip because no accurate estimate of their number is available amid their continued enforced disappearance. It noted that Israel’s occasional release of female detainees indicates that unidentified women from Gaza remain in custody.

The arrest campaigns have targeted elderly women, minors, pregnant women, patients, university students, journalists and homemakers, as well as the wives and sisters of Palestinian prisoners and those killed by Israeli forces.

31 arrests in one month

March saw the largest arrest campaign against Palestinian women this year, with 31 cases, most involving the wives of prisoners, Palestinians martyred by Zionist regime’s forces, former prisoners and deportees.

Most of the women were released after hours of interrogation, while two remained in custody. A third woman was released after ten days, rearrested 24 hours later and subsequently placed under administrative detention.

The center documented the detention of three pregnant women this year, saying their arrests put their lives at risk.

They included Amina Shaher Al-Tawil, 37, from Qalqilya, who was four months pregnant and a mother of four. She was released after four months in poor physical and psychological condition.

Dana Enad Joudeh, 35, from Nablus, who is five months pregnant and a mother of one, was placed under administrative detention for six months.

Manar Ibrahim Karaja, 28, from Ramallah, remains detained. She is four months pregnant and a mother of two.

Abuse, torture and harsh conditions

The rights center documented harsh conditions beginning with IOF raiding homes after midnight and forcibly removing women in front of their children before blindfolding and handcuffing them and subjecting them to insults and humiliation.

The detainees are transferred to the interrogation facility at Hasharon Prison, where, according to the center, they are subjected to various forms of torture, mistreatment and humiliation intended to break them psychologically and extract confessions by force.

Following interrogation, female prisoners are transferred to Damon Prison, where the center says they face repression, starvation, medical neglect, sexual harassment, strip searches, overcrowding, constant surveillance, violent cell raids, beatings, and the use of stun and gas grenades.

Their suffering has been compounded by the suspension of visits for more than 34 months and the lack of adequate clothing and other basic necessities, according to the statement.

91 Palestinian women remain imprisoned

The center said Israel continues to hold 91 Palestinian female prisoners under harsh conditions, including two girls under the age of 18 and 35 mothers with dozens of children of various ages.

Among the prisoners are two women with cancer who, according to the center, are being denied necessary treatment, as well as a woman with hepatitis and an elderly woman with Alzheimer’s disease whom Israel refuses to release.

The center also highlighted the case of Tahani Abu Samhan, who gave birth at Damon Prison in September 2025 after being arrested while seven months pregnant on accusations of incitement. She remains imprisoned there with her infant.

The center said the treatment of Palestinian women demonstrates international double standards regarding women’s rights. It called on international institutions to fulfill their responsibilities, halt the violations and secure the release of female prisoners, particularly those detained on baseless accusations or without formal charges.

The Zionist troops continue daily raids across the occupied West Bank, accompanied by widespread arrest campaigns targeting Palestinians, including women and girls.

The Palestinian Prisoners Society documented 3,600 arrests in the West Bank from the beginning of the year through July 25, in addition to thousands of field interrogations.

According to official Palestinian rights data, more than 9,400 Palestinians are held in Zionist regime’s prisons, including 3,244 administrative detainees, not including Palestinians held in Zionist regime’s military detention camps.