Damon prison: A Palestinian female detainee has accused an Israeli interrogator of repeatedly sexually harassing her during detention, the Commission of Detainees' Affairs said Wednesday.
According to Anadolu Agency, the Palestinian commission stated that the testimony was documented by its lawyer during a visit to the detainee at Damon Prison in northern Israel. The commission did not disclose the detainee's name or the reason for her detention. The detainee recounted that her arrest began with an Israeli raid on her family's home at dawn, followed by transfers between several interrogation centers where she was questioned for long hours over several days.
During the interrogation, the detainee reported being subjected to threats of assault against her family members, repeated insults, and attempts to extract confessions under pressure. She alleged that one interrogator 'repeatedly and deliberately sexually harassed her physically' during interrogation sessions. Despite her objections and informing him that his actions constituted harassment, he continued, according to the commission's account.
Furthermore, the detainee claimed she was 'strip-searched more than once' before being transferred to Damon Prison, where she described the detention conditions as inadequate for maintaining 'the minimum level of human dignity.' She highlighted issues such as overcrowding, poor food, insects, and shortages of hygiene supplies and clothing. Some female detainees, she said, were forced to sleep on the floor due to a lack of beds.
The detainee also reported that prison authorities imposed restrictive measures on female detainees, including sudden raids and searches, isolation, bans on communication between rooms, and deprivation of some basic needs. The commission stated that the testimony is part of ongoing documentation of violations against Palestinian female detainees in Israeli prisons that affect their human dignity.
The commission called for international action to protect female detainees and hold accountable those responsible for any proven violations. Official figures indicate that Israel holds around 9,400 Palestinians in its prisons as of early July 2026, including 94 female detainees, more than 350 children, 3,244 administrative detainees, and 1,320 individuals classified as 'unlawful combatants.'