Prison Conditions in Israel and the Occupied Territories

Israel operates a dual system of prisons. One system, run by the Israel Prison Service, by and large meets internationally recognised minimum standards for its 10,000 inmates, Jewish and Palestinian, criminal and security. The other system consists of detention camps run by the Israel Defense Force (IDF) for Palestinian residents of the occupied territories. Currently holding 9,000 inmates, these prisons do not meet minimum standards. Among the deficiencies of the IDF detention camps are the use of unheated outdoor tents for year-round incarceration, overcrowding, obstacles to the access of lawyers, and heavy censorship of reading material. These problems are particularly acute at the largest such facility, Ketsiot (also known as Ansar III). Ketsiot is also singled out for harsh criticism because of its remote desert location, in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, its tense atmosphere, and the absence of family visits due to an impasse that is largely due to the IDF. The report is based in part on visits by Middle East Watch to 12 facilities run by the Police Ministry, the Israel Prison Service, and the IDF. A reply to the report by the Israeli government appears in an appendix.