Launch of the International Campaign to End Sexual Violence Against Palestinian Political Prisoners in Israeli Prisons

Palestinian Prisoners' Institutions: Israeli occupation using sexual violence as a systematic policy within the ongoing matrix of horrific crimes against thousands of Palestinian prisoners. International accountability is necessary to end impunity.

July 14, 2026

Ramallah and al-Bireh, occupied Palestine – Key Palestinian prisoners' institutions, alongside a number of freed Palestinian political prisoners, announced on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, the launch of the International Campaign to End Sexual Violence Against Palestinian Political Prisoners in Israeli Prisons. The launch was made during a press conference held at the Al-Bireh Municipality Hall, attended by representatives of prisoners' organizations, human rights institutions, and several freed prisoners who had been subjected to sexual violence, including rape, inside Israeli occupation prisons.

This campaign comes amid an unprecedented escalation of severe and shocking crimes and violations committed by the Israeli occupation’s prison system against Palestinian political prisoners, especially since the start of the genocide. Israeli prisons have been transformed into open arenas for torture, starvation, humiliation, and physical, sexual and psychological abuse, documented by institutions through hundreds of affidavits and testimonies.

The organizing institutions emphasized that what is happening inside Israeli prisons cannot be treated as individual violations or isolated practices. Instead, it is part of a systematic policy implemented by the occupying state through its various apparatuses, aiming to break, humiliate, and undermine the dignity of Palestinians within a broader system of crimes committed against political detainees and the Palestinian people as a whole.

The campaign aims to:

· Break the wall of silence imposed by the nature of these crimes on the victims.

· Elevate the voices of prisoners who have been subjected to sexual violence.

· Provide a safe space for survivors to share their experiences.

· Leveraging these testimonies to allows institutions to pursue legal and human rights processes in order to hold those responsible for these severe crimes accountable.

Prisoners’ institutions stressed during the press conference that sexual violence against Palestinian political prisoners constitutes one of the most dangerous forms of torture and degradation practiced by the Israeli prison system. The continued absence of international accountability has been a key factor in the occupation's persistence and escalation of these crimes, necessitating urgent and effective international action to stop them and ensure that perpetrators do not escape punishment.

The campaign will operate at the international level to deliver victims' testimonies to various legal and human rights bodies, strengthen efforts to open accountability and prosecution paths before competent international bodies and courts, and put an end to the political and judicial protection provided by the occupation state to the perpetrators of these crimes.

Sexual Crimes Against Prisoners and the Path of Accountability

During the press conference, the director of the Center for the Defense of Liberties and Civil Rights (Hurriyat Center), Helmi al-Araj, emphasized that sexual crimes against Palestinian prisoners continue in the absence of accountability and justice, stressing that these crimes cannot be separated from the broader system of violations carried out by the occupation authorities against prisoners.

Al-Araj said that the current phase requires raising the voices of the victims and legally pursuing the occupation, affirming that the occupying state does not only commit these crimes but also provides political and legal protection to the perpetrators, which has contributed to their continuation and escalation. He added that the testimonies provided by released prisoners during the press conference represent part of an open legal battle aimed at revealing the truth of what is happening inside the prisons, achieving justice for the victims, and holding those responsible for these crimes accountable, and emphasizing that international silence regarding what prisoners are subjected to, acts as a cover for continued violations.

Meanwhile, the head of the Commission of Detainees’ and Ex-Detainees’ Affairs, Raed Abu al-Hummos, stated that what Palestinian prisoners are facing inside Israeli prisons represents an extension of the comprehensive genocide waged by the occupation against the Palestinian people. He explained that the genocide taking place in the occupied Gaza Strip has been accompanied by a dangerous escalation inside the prisons, amid a systematic targeting of prisoners through tools of torture, starvation, and deprivation of basic rights.

Abu al-Hummos pointed out that, despite the exceptional circumstances imposed by the genocide, specialized Palestinian institutions have managed to document a large number of testimonies and data that reveal the scale of the crimes committed against prisoners, asserting that these documents form a fundamental basis for any future path toward accountability and justice. He added that the courage of the released prisoners who decided to break the barrier of silence and provide their testimonies represents a historic stance against the occupation's attempts to erase and hide these crimes, stressing that the battle to defend prisoners is part of the Palestinian people's struggle for freedom and justice.

In turn, the head of the Higher National Commission for Follow-up of Prisoners' Affairs, Amin Shoman, affirmed that the launch of the campaign comes in light of an unprecedented rise in crimes of rape and sexual harassment against Palestinian prisoners, especially since the genocide began.

Shoman clarified that there are large numbers of victims who have not yet been able to speak about what they endured due to the severity of the experience and the fear of its social and psychological effects, emphasizing that the campaign aims to break this silence, provide support to the victims, and bring their cause to the entire world. He added that the marginalization of the prisoners' issue at the international level will not continue, and that institutions will continue to work to expose the crimes committed against male and female prisoners, and turn these crimes into an issue of global public opinion to ensure pressure is exerted to stop them and hold those responsible accountable.

For his part, the head of the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS), Abdullah Al-Zighari, affirmed that the PPS, in partnership with the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs and specialized human rights institutions, has accumulated hundreds of testimonies and information over the past three years, which today constitute an archive of evidence regarding the severe crimes and violations committed by the Israeli prison system against Palestinian prisoners.

Al-Zighari said that the torture, abuse, starvation, and denial of medical treatment that prisoners are subjected to, alongside sexual violence and abuse, are part of systematic policies that reflect the nature of the regime operated by the occupying state toward Palestinian prisoners. He added that the continuation of these crimes is a direct result of the state of impunity that Israel has enjoyed for decades, calling on the international community to assume its legal and moral responsibilities and work to stop these crimes and hold those responsible accountable.

Victims' Testimonies: Breaking the Silence in the Face of Horrific Crimes

The conference included live testimonies from freed Palestinian prisoners who were subjected to sexual violence inside Israeli prisons. These testimonies served as a focal point for the launch of the campaign, representing a direct transmission of the systematic crimes Palestinian prisoners face behind prison walls.

Testimony of Freed Palestinian Prisoner Sami Al-Sa’i

In his speech, freed prisoner Sami Al-Sa’i, a survivor of sexual violence, stressed that his presence at the press conference is not just to speak about his personal experience, but to speak on behalf of hundreds of liberated male and female prisoners who still carry the scars of these crimes and live with their psychological and social effects in the absence of support and accountability.

Al-Sa’i stated that many victims remain silent due to the severity of the experience and societal stigma, emphasizing that breaking this silence is an essential step toward restoring the victims' rights and dignity, and confronting the executioner who has long bet on concealing these crimes.

"The silence of the victims is the last weapon the occupation bets on to escape its crimes, while our collective voice is the path toward justice and holding those responsible for these violations accountable."— Sami Al-Sa’i

Testimony of Yousef Amayreh: What Happens Behind Prison Walls Must Not Remain Hidden

In a moving testimony, freed prisoner Yousef Amayreh, the general coordinator of the campaign - and a survivor of rape and sexual harassment during his detention - gave his account of what prisoners endured inside Israeli prisons.

Amayreh stressed that words fail to capture the scale of suffering endured by prisoners subjected to these crimes, as well as the pain that accompanies their families, wives, and children, emphasizing that this is not just about past incidents, but a reality that continues inside the prisons. He said that there are prisoners who are still being subjected to severe violations behind the walls, and the world must understand that the crimes committed against prisoners are not individual stories, but part of a daily reality lived by Palestinian detainees.

He added that crimes of rape and sexual harassment against Palestinian political prisoners are no longer isolated cases, but have turned into a systematic practice within the Israeli prison system, where perpetrators enjoy protection from the occupation authorities, necessitating urgent international intervention.

Amayreh questioned the double standards of the international community toward these crimes, asking: "Would these crimes have been allowed to continue if one of the victims held a different nationality? And would international silence have persisted if the victims were of other nationalities?"

For her part, the wife of Yousef Amayreh spoke about the far-reaching impact of these crimes on the victims' families, emphasizing that sexual violence does not leave its mark on the prisoner alone, but extends to their entire family, which bears deep psychological and social burdens.

She said that the wives and children of prisoners live through the repercussions of these crimes in silence, explaining that the wife finds herself facing doubled responsibilities in trying to keep the family together, while the children carry questions and pain for which they find no answers. She stressed that the families of victims need support and backing, and that confronting the impact of these crimes requires realizing that the victim is not just one individual, but a whole family and community.

Toward an International Path for Accountability and Prosecution

At the end of the press conference, the organizing institutions of the campaign emphasized that the launch represents the beginning of a long path aimed at exposing Israeli crimes of sexual violence against Palestinian political prisoners, ending the state of silence that has surrounded these crimes, and working to build a comprehensive legal and human rights dossier based on victims' testimonies and documented accounts.

The organizations emphasized that the sexual violence perpetrated against Palestinian prisoners constitutes a grave violation of the rules of international humanitarian law and a crime that requires investigation and accountability. They stressed that the responsibility to stop these crimes does not lie with the victims alone, but is the responsibility of the international community and its legal and human rights institutions.

Campaign Demands:

1. Urgent Intervention: Calling on the United Nations, the International Criminal Court, special UN mechanisms, and State Parties to the Geneva Conventions to take immediate and effective steps to ensure the protection of Palestinian prisoners.

2. Independent Investigations: Opening independent investigations into the crimes committed against them and prosecuting those responsible.

3. Ending Impunity: Putting an end to the policy of impunity that has encouraged the continuation of these systematic violations.

They affirmed that the international campaign will continue its work in various international arenas to convey the voices of the prisoners, support the victims, and pursue the perpetrators of these crimes, with the goal of achieving justice and redress for all those who have been subjected to these violations.

 

(ENDS)