Israeli security minister praises harsher treatment of Palestinian inmates ahead of elections

During a tour of a women's detention facility on August 30, Israel's far-right national security minister boasted that conditions for Palestinian prisoners have worsened, referencing a blurred-face video of an inmate describing three days without bathing and unchanged underwear. He likened the situation to the hardships endured by Israeli hostages held by Hamas, stating that the current prison standards are reduced to the "bare minimum."

The minister's comments were met with sharp rebuke from the Palestinian Authority’s Commission on Detainees Affairs, which accused him of brutality and racism, and from Hamas-controlled Gaza prisoners ministry, which called the video evidence of the occupation's depravity. The inmate identified by her husband as Yasmine Shaaban had been re-arrested in May 2025 after a raid near Jenin. These statements emerge as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition struggles in opinion polls ahead of the October 27 national elections, and the minister has resisted calls to form a joint right-wing ticket. International observers have previously condemned the minister for extremist remarks, including calls for nightly killings in Gaza.