Beersheba:Israeli prison authorities have continued to hold Palestinian journalist and administrative detainee Bushra al-Tawil in isolation for 46 consecutive days, according to Palestinian prisoners' organizations.
According to Anadolu Agency, the Palestinian Prisoner Society, Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, and the Palestine Liberation Organization's Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs reported that Tawil, 33, was moved to the Ohalei Oz isolation facility in Beersheba, southern Israel. Previously, she had been held in isolation at Damon prison in Haifa and was transferred from Neve Tirza prison in central Israel.
The repeated transfers and continued isolation have hindered her legal team's ability to visit her, despite several requests from lawyers of the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs. A lawyer was informed that Tawil had once again been transferred to Ohalei Oz, preventing a scheduled visit.
The organizations have called on international bodies, particularly the International Committee of the Red Cross, to intervene urgently to end her isolation and secure her release. They argue that Tawil's situation underscores a growing policy of isolating Palestinian prisoners, including women, and that this practice has become systematic, preventing detainees from knowing or challenging the allegations against them and causing psychological harm.
The UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, known as the Nelson Mandela Rules, prohibit prolonged or indefinite solitary confinement. According to these rules, solitary confinement is defined as keeping a prisoner for 22 hours or more a day without meaningful human contact, and prolonged solitary confinement is defined as lasting more than 15 consecutive days. The Palestinian groups stated that Tawil's 46 days in isolation exceed this threshold and violate international standards.
Tawil has been held in administrative detention without charge since February and is recognized as one of the most prominent Palestinian female detainees facing administrative detention in recent years. She is the daughter of Jamal al-Tawil, a Palestinian administrative detainee who has spent years in Israeli prisons.
The organizations are demanding Tawil's immediate release and an end to her isolation. They note that about 9,500 Palestinians are held in Israeli prisons, including around 90 women and more than 350 children, who face food deprivation, torture, and medical neglect according to Palestinian and Israeli rights groups.