PCATI lawyers have been asked to represent two Rafaket prisoners who remain there without charge. One of them is a nurse, the other a salesman. When they first went to meet them, they were led underground by masked, heavily armed security guards. They saw dirty stairs and a room with the remains of dead insects lying on the floor. There were no windows or ventilation. Their clients were brought in bent over, handcuffed and handcuffed, and the guards forced them to lower their heads to the ground. There were cameras mounted on the walls, and guards warned that the meeting would be interrupted if they discussed the families of the detainees or the war in Gaza.
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How many Palestinians are detained in Rafaket Prison?
What are the conditions like in the Rafaket underground prison?
How long have civilian prisoners been held in Rafaket?
Who was responsible for representing prisoners in Rafaket?
Prison in Israel. Conditions 'tantamount to torture'
According to PCATI lawyers, the two civilians they represent have been in an Israeli underground prison since the beginning of 2025. However, there are probably many more of them there, despite the mass release of Palestinians in October. “Even though the war is officially over, [Palestyńczycy z Gazy] they are still imprisoned in legally questionable and harsh war conditions that violate international humanitarian law and amount to torture,” said PCATI, quoted by The Guardian. Civilian prisoners allegedly told lawyers about the lack of adequate food, the inability to contact their families, beatings and other forms of violence, and, above all, the lack of access to fresh air and daylight.
As “The Guardian” reminds, the Rafaket prison was opened in the early 1980s and was intended to house the most dangerous criminals in Israel. It was closed a few years later, but after the attacks on October 7, 2023, Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir ordered the facility to be reopened. About 100 prisoners have been held there in recent months, according to official data obtained by PCATI.
Two men who met with lawyers PCATI is a 34-year-old nurse detained while working in a hospital in December 2023 and a young, 18-year-old trafficker detained in October 2024 while passing through an Israeli checkpoint.
According to reports from “The Guardian”, the Ministry of Justice sent questions about the two men and other civilians imprisoned in Rafaket to the Israeli military, which in turn sent questions to the Israel Prison Service (IPS). IPS said in a statement that it “operates in accordance with the law and under the supervision of official monitors” and that it “is not responsible for the legal process, classification of detainees, arrest policy or arrests.” She did not respond to questions about the status and identity of other prisoners held at Rakefet. According to an update from “The Guardian”, in mid-October the young seller was released.
