RAMALLAH, May 24, 2026 (WAFA) – The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society warned of a dangerous and rapidly escalating outbreak of scabies spreading through sections of several major Israeli prisons, based on dozens of lawyer visits conducted during April and May 2026 that revealed shocking levels of human suffering and deliberate medical neglect inside detention camps.
The organization said testimonies gathered by lawyers reflected a catastrophic reality facing Palestinian prisoners amid the widespread spread of the disease and the deliberate denial of medical treatment and healthcare, adding that prisons had effectively become contaminated environments where diseases and epidemics are being used as tools of systematic torture against detainees.
According to the statement, prison cells and overcrowded rooms holding no fewer than eight prisoners each contain at least three detainees infected with scabies, amid a complete lack of minimum hygiene and humanitarian standards.
The organization added that Israeli prison authorities had canceled several scheduled legal visits after informing lawyers that the prisoners they intended to meet were infected with scabies, describing this as a dangerous indication of the scale of the outbreak and attempts to conceal the deteriorating health conditions inside prisons.
It said the prisons of Ofer, Megiddo, Naqab, and Janot were among the facilities where the disease had spread most extensively. Prisoners in Megiddo Prison also reported severe symptoms including acute abdominal pain, headaches, and intense body pain, raising fears of additional epidemics spreading in the absence of meaningful medical care.
The organization noted that many infected prisoners had previously contracted the disease and only partially recovered before being reinfected due to the continued deadly conditions inside prisons. Others, it said, have suffered from the disease for several consecutive months, with some infections lasting more than five months without effective treatment or serious medical intervention.
It further reported that many detainees are now suffering from boils, skin ulcers, and severe infections caused by the worsening disease and the lack of treatment. Prisoners are deprived of sleep because of constant itching and pain, while some have lost the ability to move normally due to deteriorating health conditions.
The statement said the psychological suffering endured by prisoners had reached unprecedented levels because of the prolonged illness and months of physical and mental exhaustion. Some prisoners, it added, now describe recovery from the disease as their only wish after being overwhelmed by daily suffering to the point that they can no longer think about anything else, including their freedom.
The Prisoner’s Society accused Israeli prison authorities of enforcing policies that are directly contributing to the spread of the disease, including the deliberate deprivation of personal hygiene supplies, severe overcrowding, lack of ventilation, denial of sunlight exposure, and a shortage of clothing that forces prisoners to wash and wear wet clothes in degrading and inhumane conditions.
The organization stressed that the situation inside prisons cannot be separated from ongoing policies of torture and extermination against prisoners, adding that Israeli prison authorities are using diseases, epidemics, and medical negligence as tools of slow killing aimed at destroying detainees physically and psychologically.
It added that these policies have contributed to the deaths of 89 Palestinian prisoners and detainees in Israeli prisons since the beginning of the war, referring only to those whose identities have been publicly confirmed.
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