The Israeli Prison Service (IPS) has increased its use of solitary confinement as a way to punish Palestinian detainees since the start of the war on Gaza , new data obtained by Physicians for Human Rights Israel has revealed.
The group issued a freedom of information request to the IPS to obtain the data, with figures showing that the solitary confinement of children has dramatically risen, from one case recorded in 2022 to 199 in 2024.
The sharpest rise, however, can be seen in the solitary confinement of adults. In 2024, 4,493 were documented as being held in isolation, which amounts to almost triple the figure from the year before, and comes amid rising concerns among activists and rights groups that the IPS is torturing detainees.
The figures show a marked increase in the number of women held in solitary confinement, from two in 2022 to 25 in 2024.
Solitary confinement is defined by the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners as isolation of detainees for 22 hours or more without human contact.
The IPS says it has two types of isolation for detainees, punitive isolation which is limited to 14 days, and deterrent isolation, which can last up to six months and is renewable.
The charity Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights have previously strongly condemned the harmful impacts of solitary confinement on detainees - particularly children - noting that it could have severe impacts on them including weight loss and mental illness which could lead to self-harm and attempted suicide.
Solitary confinement can lead to depression, anxiety, anger, paranoia, psychosis, and perceptual distortions.
The IPS responded to the freedom of information request stating that the reason behind the dramatic increase is the rise in the number of "security detainees" held by Israel. The IPS claimed that comparisons made between conditions before the start of the war and after, "distort reality".
However Oneg Ben-Dror from Physicians for Human Rights Israel said that this form of abuse of prisoners was being normalised.
"What was once an exceptional measure has become routine, including for minors and women," he said
Former Palestinian detainees have reported torture, beatings, starvation, and rape in Israeli prisons.
Last year, the UN issued a statement detailing and denouncing reports of sexual violence in Israeli prisons, including the notorious Sde Teiman facility.
A panel of UN experts at the time said: "Israel’s widespread and systemic abuse of Palestinians in detention and arbitrary arrest practices over decades, coupled with the absence of any restraints by the Israeli State since 7 October 2023, paint a shocking picture enabled by absolute impunity".