A Palestinian woman being arrested
130 Palestinian women detained by ‘Israel’ in 2026
Note: AI technology was used to generate this article’s audio.
- The detained face harsh conditions inside 'Israeli' prisons.
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) have detained 130 Palestinian women and girls across the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem since the beginning of the year, according to a report released by the Palestine Center for Prisoners Studies.
The report found that arrests targeting Palestinian women have surged since October 7, 2023, amounting to approximately 800 documented cases.
The statistics exclude female detainees from the Gaza Strip, as no verified count is available due to ‘Israel’s’ ongoing policy of forced disappearance. However, the center noted that periodic releases confirm that unidentified women from Gaza remain held in occupation facilities.
Arrests have targeted elderly women, minors, pregnant women, university students, journalists, and mothers, as well as female relatives of slain Palestinians and political prisoners.
Read more: 'Israeli' military abducts son of slain Palestinian
Pregnant detainees
According to the report, ‘Israeli’ authorities have detained multiple pregnant women.
These include 37-year-old Amina Al-Tawil, a mother of four from Qalqilya, who was detained for four months while pregnant and released in critical physical and psychological condition.
Also detained are 35-year-old Dana Joudeh, five months pregnant and under a six-month administrative detention order, and 28-year-old Manar Karaja, who remains in custody four months into her pregnancy.
Abuse during detention
Human rights advocates detailed that detentions typically begin with midnight home raids, where women are blindfolded, handcuffed, and subjected to physical and verbal abuse in front of their families.
Inside Damon Prison, 91 Palestinian female prisoners currently face severe violations, including strip searches, beatings, medical neglect, starvation, over-crowding, and the use of tear gas during cell raids
The total includes two minors under the age of 18, 35 mothers, two cancer patients denied necessary medical care, a prisoner with hepatitis, and an elderly woman suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.
The suffering is further compounded by a total ban on family visits and severe shortages of basic necessities, clothing, and hygiene products.
