The Palestinian Authority and West Bank NGOs launched an international legal campaign on Monday against alleged sexual violence targeting Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons, drawing on dozens of testimonies from former detainees describing abuse. Among the allegations, journalist Sami al Sai said he was raped by multiple prison guards over roughly 20 minutes, while former detainee Youssef al-Amayreh, freed in January after two years in custody, described sexual abuse.
Israel currently holds roughly 9,400 Palestinian and Arab prisoners, including 99 women, over 350 children, and 3,244 administrative detainees. Rights groups say violations have escalated since the war in Gaza began following the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023. A March 2025 U.N. human rights office report documented sexual violence by Israel since that date.
Separately, prominent prisoner Marwan Barghouti was struck by a rubber bullet in his cell on Sunday, according to reports. Barghouti has been imprisoned since 2002, serving five life sentences. Israel has blocked the International Committee of the Red Cross from visiting Palestinian prisoners since October 2023, despite a Supreme Court ruling on June 3.