'Does Gaza still exist?' How Israel controls the bodies and minds of Palestinian prisoners

Many of us dream of retreating to a secluded island, far from the relentless noise of the outside world, to find peace and clarity.

But for more than 10,000 Palestinian prisoners - around a quarter of them from Gaza, classified as “unlawful combatants” - isolation is no dream; it is their worst nightmare. 

For nearly two years, countless detainees and prisoners have been confined to near-total solitude, cut off from the outside world. This isolation is weaponised as a form of physical and psychological torture, designed to break the human spirit.

As a lawyer from the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, during my visits to those held in military custody and prisons, I have witnessed unimaginable pain. Two moments in particular have stayed with me: the first was when a prisoner quietly asked, “Does Gaza still exist?” 

Those few words left me speechless, revealing the depth of his anguish and the relentless anxiety that haunts him every moment. 

More recently, after the war with Iran, another prisoner said to me: “The guards told us there are military exercises - that’s why we hear bombs and alarms.” 

These exchanges laid bare a painful truth: Palestinian prisoners are isolated not only physically, but also from vital information about the outside world.

Regime of collective punishment

Before 7 October 2023, Palestinian prisoners already faced repression, degrading treatment and inhumane conditions - but since then, their situation has worsened dramatically, as Israeli forces impose a regime of collective punishment and isolation. 

Prisoners endure unbearable heat in summer, freezing cold in winter, medical neglect, sexual harassment, foul and insufficient food, and nightly electricity cuts. 

Access to the yard, the canteen, clean water and family visits are denied, while Israeli guards monitor legal consultations or prevent them outright, in violation of Israeli and international law. 

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Violent raids are routine, belongings are confiscated, and prisoners are left with only a single set of clothes. As one prisoner who spent 20 years in jail and was released in early 2023, then re-arrested in November 2023, told me: “The 20 years I spent in prison are nothing compared to a single night of the torment I face now after October 7.”

The isolation of Palestinian prisoners extends far beyond separation from the outside world. Within the prison walls, harsh restrictions prevent them from sharing their physical, psychological and medical struggles with fellow detainees, deliberately severing human bonds and forcing each individual to endure immense pain and loneliness. 

'The 20 years I spent in prison are nothing compared to a single night of the torment I face now after October 7'

- Palestinian prisoner in Israeli jail

Detainees from Gaza have testified that they were forced to sit for 20 hours without moving or speaking, heads bent between their legs, eyes closed, hands and feet shackled. Any attempt to move their body or speak resulted in collective punishment, including beatings, humiliation and other forms of repression. 

Through these measures, Israeli authorities ensure that prisoners remain mentally and emotionally isolated, thus preventing their suffering from becoming collective awareness or anger. This strategy confines each person’s pain to themselves, breaking their spirits quietly and relentlessly, while denying solidarity and maintaining control over both body and mind.

Legal access for Palestinian detainees has also been severely restricted. Dozens of lawyers have been banned from entering prisons, on allegations that they attempted to transmit messages to detainees and prisoners. Such prohibitions violate the fundamental principles of legal counsel and due process, further isolating prisoners and denying them basic rights.

The systematic use of isolation as a tool of oppression and torture inflicts severe psychological and physical harm. It not only damages prisoners individually; it also fractures their collective strength. By cutting off their connections to family, fellow inmates and the outside world, this policy deepens their suffering and undermines their fundamental human dignity.

Basic rights violated

Despite the protections afforded by the Fourth Geneva Convention and other international treaties, such as the Convention Against Torture, and Israeli court rulings emphasising the state’s duty to uphold the fundamental rights of prisoners - who are protected under international humanitarian law by virtue of residing in occupied territory - Israel continues to impose collective punishment on Palestinian prisoners, severely violating their basic rights.

The following legal principle, as cited in a court ruling on a case launched by Physicians for Human Rights against the state, governs the rights of prisoners under Israeli law: “Any infringement upon a prisoner’s human rights must never amount to additional punishment beyond that prescribed by law. Such infringement is legitimate only if it necessarily results from the deprivation of liberty inherent in imprisonment or is required to protect a vital public interest recognised by law.”

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Additionally, in a case brought by the rights group Yesh Din and other groups against the state, the court noted that Israel’s obligations towards Palestinian prisoners “include the duty to uphold international law and the standards it sets regarding conditions of detention and imprisonment”.

Disturbingly, as of this month, more than 3,500 Palestinian administrative detainees remain imprisoned without clear charges against them. 

For an administrative detainee, uncertainty is constant. Their detention is based on secret “security evidence”, and even after completing a six-month term, the order can be renewed indefinitely. Neither the detainee nor his lawyer can obtain clear answers about when, or if, he will be released. This lack of transparency leaves the detainee isolated and powerless, deprived not only of his freedom, but also of any understanding of why it was taken.

These practices raise urgent legal and ethical questions about respect for human rights, fair treatment, and justice under both international law and Israeli law. Addressing the profound harms caused by this regime of isolation is not only a matter of compassion, but a legal imperative to uphold the principles of human dignity and basic rights for all prisoners in Israeli custody. 

Israel must also halt its retaliatory practices against prisoners, and stop the psychological abuse inflicted through their terrifying isolation from the outside world - a weapon used to assert power and control over individuals who have already been deprived of their most basic rights, human dignity and freedoms.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye.