Israel turning prisons into ‘torture grounds’ with new weapons: Palestinian group

RAMALLAH, Palestine / ISTANBUL

A Palestinian advocacy group on Saturday accused Israel of turning its prisons into “torture grounds” after authorities introduced new types of weapons to be used against detainees.

Abdullah al-Zaghari, head of the Palestinian Prisoner Society, said the Israel Prison Service has begun equipping guards with stun guns and new forms of rubber bullets.

He warned that the move represents “a systematic escalation in repression” and puts the lives of detainees at constant risk.

“These measures amount to violations of international law and human rights standards, and testimonies show that they are already being used during raids inside prison wards,” al-Zaghari said, accusing Israel of using Palestinian detainees as a “testing ground” for its weapons.

The group noted that since Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza began on Oct. 7, 2023, more than 19,000 Palestinians have been arrested across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Among them are at least 585 women and 1,550 children. It also said 77 detainees have died in Israeli custody, 46 of them from Gaza.

The Palestinian resistance group Hamas also condemned the introduction of new weapons in Israeli prisons, calling it a “dangerous and systematic escalation” against defenseless detainees.

In a statement, the group said the decision reflects “a fascist, retaliatory policy” aimed at inflicting severe physical and psychological harm, warning it could amount to a form of slow execution.

Hamas held Israel fully responsible for the safety of prisoners and urged international human rights organizations to intervene immediately to stop what it described as “crimes inside prisons.”

Rights organizations have long accused Israel of subjecting Palestinian detainees to abuse, including starvation, denial of medical treatment, and systematic mistreatment that threatens their lives.

Since the start of Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip in October 2023, at least 1,018 Palestinians have been killed and more than 7,000 injured in the occupied West Bank by Israeli forces and illegal settlers, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

In a landmark opinion last July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal. It demanded the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.