Published on 6/18/2026
Institutions specialized in prisoner affairs sent an urgent appeal to the World Health Organization to intervene immediately due to the escalating outbreak of scabies among Palestinian prisoners, including children, and the deteriorating health conditions in Israeli occupation prisons.
The Addameer Foundation for Prisoner Care and Human Rights, the Palestinian Prisoner’s Club, and the Commission for Prisoners’ Affairs stated in a joint statement that the disease is spreading widely in several prisons in light of the continued measures that have exacerbated the health crisis and turned it into a serious threat to thousands of prisoners and detainees.
She indicated that despite contacting the World Health Organization in April 2025, recent testimonies and data indicate further health deterioration and the continued spread of the disease in the absence of treatment and necessary preventive measures.
The three Palestinian institutions said that they documented the suffering of the injured prisoners from severe itching, skin infections, constant pain, and sleep deprivation, in addition to serious psychological and physical effects, with the children of the prisoners being exposed to the same conditions.
It attributed the outbreak of scabies to the harsh conditions of detention, including severe overcrowding, deprivation of hygiene materials, restriction of bathing, failure to isolate the infected, and deprivation of treatment and health care.
She stressed that the continuation of these policies constitutes a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and international human rights standards, and reflects a dangerous level of deliberate neglect that threatens the lives and health of prisoners.
The institutions called on the World Health Organization to allow independent international medical teams to visit prisons, pressure the occupation to provide immediate treatment, and guarantee hygiene supplies, stressing the need to take urgent measures to reduce overcrowding and prevent the spread of infectious diseases.
It held the occupation authorities fully responsible for the lives and safety of the prisoners, renewing its call on the international community to take urgent action to stop the continuing violations against Palestinian prisoners.
There are about 9,500 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons, including 360 children and 95 female prisoners, and they suffer torture, starvation, and medical neglect, killing dozens of them, according to Palestinian and Israeli human rights organizations.
