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Public Defender's Office

A guard grasps the hands of a cuffed prisoner through a door slot at the Givon Prison in Ramle on January 11, 2026. (Oren Cohen/Flash90)
July 19, 2026, 11:16 am
With Ben Gvir’s backing, prison guards quietly branding domestic criminals as terrorists
Public defenders alarmed over uptick in Arab inmates being moved to squalid security wings where they serve alongside terror prisoners, based on questionable misconduct allegations
By Charlie Summers
Handcuffed Hamas terrorists sit next to a picture of Palestinians walking past destroyed buildings in the Gaza Strip and an Israeli flag, in a prison in central Israel, May 6, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
January 22, 2026, 2:30 pm
Daily Briefing Jan. 22: Day 839 – Report exposes unfit jail conditions for Palestinian offenders
Legal correspondent Jeremy Sharon discusses abysmal treatment for imprisoned Palestinians, and a rally calling for Haredim to serve in the military
By Jessica Steinberg and Jeremy Sharon
Israel Prisons Service officers prepare inmates for release as part of a hostage deal at Ketziot Prison in southern Israel, on February 26, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
December 16, 2025, 6:10 pm
Prisons ‘on the brink’ as Palestinians not freed in hostage deals despair, top warden warns
Guards increasingly finding diagrams, other info that could be used to plan jailbreaks, official tells Knesset committee, as lack of hope for future swaps raises fear of violence
By Charlie Summers
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir attends a committee meeting on legislation mandating the death penalty for terrorists at the Knesset on December 8, 2025. He wears a pin shaped like a noose in his lapel.(Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
December 8, 2025, 7:17 pm
Far-right MKs sport noose-shaped pins at hearing on controversial death penalty bill
Ben Gvir draws condemnation after display at Knesset meeting; MKs pushing bill mandating capital punishment are told its language may not be constitutional
By Charlie Summers
The Ketziot prison seen on September 13, 2022. (Nati Shohat/Flash90)
December 6, 2025, 11:29 pm
Public defender reports Palestinian inmates suffering ‘severe hunger’ in Israeli jails
As prison population has swelled beyond capacity, Public Defender’s Office says most detainees are held in tiny, unsanitary cells; guards said to often beat security prisoners
By Charlie Summers
A view of the entrance to the Russian Compound detention center in Jerusalem, March 12. 2020. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)
October 31, 2025, 5:27 pm
Police say autistic Arab Israeli teen detained on suspicion of aiding Hamas, ISIS
14-year-old allegedly tried to manufacture explosives, sent sensitive videos to terror contacts; boy’s mother insists he is innocent, urges his release and psychiatric evaulation
By Charlie Summers
View of the entrance to the detention center in the Russian Compound, In central Jerusalem, November 28, 2024. (Nati Shohat/Flash90)
October 29, 2025, 12:23 pm
Autistic Arab Israeli teen arrested in West Bank, held in harsh conditions – lawyer
14-year-old boy in detention for over a week said to endure beatings by guards and inmates, after army arrests him on hidden evidence; prison service denies claims of abuse
By Charlie Summers
Supreme Court President Isaac Amit with Supreme Court Deputy President Noam Sohlberg during his swearing-in ceremony, at the President's Residence in Jerusalem, February 13, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
August 31, 2025, 4:41 pm
Police must obtain judicial warrants to search suspects’ phones, High Court rules
Three-judge panel rules that current practice of asking suspects for consent to search their devices is insufficient, given the extreme privacy violation that it entails
By ToI Staff
Jamil Srour, who was granted a retrial after serving 15 years in prison for murder, in an undated picture. (Hebrew University Innocence Project Facebook page, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
May 15, 2025, 11:46 pm
After 15 years in jail, East Jerusalem man convicted of murder granted retrial
Supreme Court orders release of Jamil Srour, says new evidence casts doubt on his guilt in killing during fight between families
By ToI Staff
Palestinian terrorists are seen at an entrance to Kibbutz Nir Oz, during the Hamas-led onslaught on October 7, 2023. (AP/Hassan Eslaiah)
April 20, 2025, 10:57 am
Report: Israel asks US not to indict Oct. 7 terrorists before it files own charges
Israeli prosecutors said to draw up charge sheets against 22 terrorists for Nir Oz massacre; slew of law changes expected, including possibility of trials without suspects’ lawyers in court
By ToI Staff
Lawyers take part in a demonstration against the government's controversial plans to overhaul the judicial system, outside the Tel Aviv District Court on January 12, 2023. (Jack Guez/AFP)
January 13, 2023, 8:32 pm
Attorneys in state’s employ warned against protesting judicial overhaul
State Attorney Association gets legal opinion from private law firm on the matter after hundreds of lawyers rallied outside Tel Aviv court Thursday
By ToI Staff
Police detain protesters at a rally against police violence following the death of 19-year-old Solomon Tekah in Tel Aviv, July 3, 2019. (Neuberg/Flash90)
July 12, 2019, 9:36 am
Public Defender: Cops don’t properly probe complaints about own violent conduct
As Ethiopian-Israelis insist police internal investigations unit should play no part in examining fatal shooting of Solomon Tekah, a new report underlines the cause for concern
By Sue Surkes
Illustrative photo of Eshel Prison, undated. (Moshe Shai/Flash90)
May 12, 2019, 8:52 am
Report finds inhumane treatment of inmates widespread in Israeli prisons
Inspectors detail binding of prisoners for days at a time, strip searches without proper cause, and cells infested by rats, bedbugs and cockroaches
By Michael Bachner
View of the Shita prison, located in northern Israel, February 28, 2013. (Moshe Shai/FLASH90)
September 5, 2016, 6:07 am
Many innocents likely held in Israeli prisons, new report says
In annual paper, Public Defender’s Office says systemic problems make it very hard to discover, overturn wrongful convictions
By ToI Staff
Illustrative photo of a guard in an Israeli prison (Abir Sultan/Flash 90)
August 3, 2015, 4:55 pm
New report reveals harsh conditions in Israeli jails
Public Defender’s Office finds widespread overcrowding, inadequate access to medical care and poor conditions at most facilities
By Tamar Pileggi
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