On Prisoner's Day: Occupation Prisons Turn into 'Laboratories of Savagery' and Escalation of Systematic Execution Policies

The commemoration of Palestinian Prisoner's Day on April 17th this year highlights a reality that is the bloodiest and harshest in decades. The prisoner movement within Israeli occupation prisons faces an unprecedented retaliatory campaign, which has sharply intensified since the start of the widespread aggression in October 2023.

Human rights sources reported a massive surge in the number of detainees, rising from 5,000 prisoners to approximately 9,500 currently. This 83% increase places immense pressure on the prison infrastructure, which has transformed into centers of systematic abuse and torture, far from international oversight.

The head of the Palestinian Prisoner's Club, Abdullah Zghari, warned against strenuous Israeli efforts to legislate a law for the execution of Palestinian prisoners. Zghari described this trend as a war crime and a crime against humanity, considering it a natural extension of the genocide waged by the occupation authorities against the Palestinian people wherever they are.

For his part, expert in Israeli affairs Adel Shadid pointed out that the absence of international accountability has led to an escalation of abuse. Shadid criticized international double standards in dealing with human rights issues, where the martyrdom of nearly 80 prisoners inside prisons since last October is ignored, while international uproar is raised over less severe issues in other regions.

In a related context, international law professor Michael Link confirmed that the pace of brutal treatment has significantly escalated since the government of Benjamin Netanyahu and the extremist minister Itamar Ben-Gvir took office. Link explained that prisons now lack the most basic humanitarian necessities, as prisoners are deliberately deprived of food, sleep, and medical treatment.

Human rights reports were based on what was reported by UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, who described the prison system as a 'laboratory of calculated savagery.' The reports confirmed that the occupation violates international humanitarian law by transferring prisoners from the occupied territories into Israel, a practice documented by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Documented testimonies included appalling torture methods, including the use of electric shocks and forced stripping. Sources also revealed the use of police dogs to tear at the bodies of naked prisoners, in an attempt to break their human dignity and undermine their steadfastness inside the cells.

Crimes of rape and sexual assault are among the most serious documented recently against Palestinian detainees. Prisoner institutions confirmed that these practices are not individual acts by jailers, but rather a systematic strategic policy aimed at humiliating Palestinians and absolutely violating their dignity.

The leaders of the prisoner movement were not spared from these attacks, as leader Marwan Barghouti and his comrades were subjected to direct beatings and continuous abuse. This policy aims to isolate leaders from the rest of the prisoners and break the will of organization within prisons, which are in a state of constant turmoil as a result of these violations.

As part of the policies of humiliation, detainees are forced to imitate animal sounds and allow soldiers to ride on their backs in scenes reminiscent of the worst global prison scandals. This suffering continues amidst absolute international silence, while Palestinians continue their activities in the West Bank and Gaza to affirm that the issue of prisoners remains at the top of national priorities.

The Israeli prison system, since the beginning of the genocide in October 2023, has transformed into a laboratory of calculated savagery.