Palestinian mother, daughter recount strip searches, harsh conditions in Israeli detention

By Aysar Alais
RAMALLAH /Palestine (AA) – Two Palestinian women detained by Israel have detailed mistreatment in custody, including strip searches, prolonged interrogation and severe detention conditions, according to the Palestinian Commission of Detainees Affairs.

The commission said Thursday that Amina Suweilim, 55, and her daughter Ayat, 22, from Nablus in the occupied West Bank, have been held in Damon prison since their arrest on Nov. 3, 2025.

Their accounts were conveyed following a legal visit conducted by a commission lawyer.

According to a statement by the commission, Israeli forces forcibly entered the family home in Nablus, detained the two women and transferred them separately in military vehicles.

Amina said she was made to sit on the floor of a military vehicle during transfer, resulting in shoulder pain that persists. She described extended interrogation sessions marked by psychological pressure, including questioning in front of her daughter.

Ayat said she was initially questioned at the house before being moved to the Jalameh detention facility in northern Israel, where she was also subjected to sustained psychological pressure.

The commission said both women were later placed in solitary confinement at Jalameh and were allowed to see each other for only three days during that period.

They described their cells as narrow and cold, with rough walls, thin bedding and limited food of poor quality.

After being transferred to Damon prison in northern Israel, the two detained women were subjected to strip searches and placed in separate rooms within the women’s section, with communication between them restricted, the statement added.

The commission also cited limited daily outdoor time, shortages of clothing and basic hygiene supplies, and repeated disciplinary measures without clarification.

It said Amina suffers from a torn tendon in her left hand, which deteriorated due to repeated handcuffing from behind during transfers and prison operations.

In recent months, several Palestinians released from Israeli prisons have reported ill-treatment and medical neglect during detention.

Reports indicate that Israel's crackdowns on Palestinian prisoners have heightened since Israel’s two-year war in Gaza, where rights groups report increased cases of abuse, beatings, torture and deprivation of food.

‏Israel’s war on Gaza, which began on Oct. 8, 2023, has killed more than 72,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 171,000, most of them women and children, and destroyed about 90% of Gaza’s civilian infrastructure.

At least 591 Palestinians have been killed and over 1,578 others injured in Israeli attacks since a ceasefire deal took effect on Oct. 10, 2025, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

*Writing by Tarek Chouiref