At least 32 Palestinians died in Israeli detention in 2025

An annual report from Palestinian prisoner rights groups found that at least 32 Palestinians died in Israeli detention throughout 2025, as reported by the Middle East Eye and agencies on December 30th.

The report was published by the Palestinian Commission of Detainees’ Affairs, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS) as well as Addameer, and accused Israel of committing a “systematic genocide” against detainees.

The report stated that Palestinian detainees died as a result of “severely inhumane systematic policies”, with the report also stating that “[Israeli detention] facilities have turned into sites of torture, designed to break prisoners physically and mentally through prolonged, deliberate suffering, and slow-execution policies.”

Since October 2023, at least 100 prisoners have died under these conditions; on September 7th, Israel’s Supreme Court ruled that Palestinian security prisoners were being denied basic nutrition and that conditions for prisoners were dangerous.

Palestinian prisoner affairs are overseen by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who leads the far-right Jewish Power Party.

Under Ben-Gvir’s supervision, Palestinian detainees have suffered what the PPS and the Commission of Detainees’ and Ex-Detainees’ Affairs have called “the worst levels of torture and abuse.”

It was reported in October that footage emerged of Ben-Gvir standing in front of a cell of shackled Palestinian detainees, in which he told the camera that Palestinians detainees “deserve a death penalty law.”

Ben-Gvir has been a vocal supporter of the Israeli Knesset passing a bill that would allow for Palestinians convicted of killing Israelis on “nationalistic grounds” to be sentenced to death.

He has also called for the execution of senior Palestinian Authority officials, describing them as “terrorists.” It is unclear if Ben-Gvir’s designation of the officials as terrorists would make them eligible for the death penalty under the bill, which passed its first Knesset reading on November 10th.

Other members of Ben-Gvir’s party have called for Palestinians who burn waste to be killed. This argument also received backing from the Israeli Environment Minister, Idit Silman.

At a parliamentary meeting on December 8th, several Jewish Power politicians wore noose-shaped pendants to signal their support for a death penalty bill that would seemingly apply exclusively to Palestinians.

By displaying these pendants, the politicians signalled a blatant disregard for Palestinian life, a sentiment that is becoming increasingly apparent in Israeli politics, according to rights groups.

In October, Ben-Gvir was among 55 Israeli politicians who called for President Isaac Herzog to pardon Israeli inmates convicted of killing Palestinians, including Amiram Ben-Uliel who was convicted for the 2015 firebombing that killed three members of the Palestinian Dawabsheh family.

Middle East Eye and agencies, Maghrebi.org