Israeli restrictions on West Bank camps and prisons

In late July 2026, Israeli military authorities prolonged the closure of three major refugee camps in the occupied West Bank—Jenin, Tulkarm and Nur Shams—until the end of September and imposed new permit requirements for any movement in and out of the camps. The extension came amid ongoing home demolitions, large‑scale arrests and frequent clashes, with Palestinian officials reporting over 1,100 deaths and tens of thousands of arrests in the West Bank since October 2023. At the same time, the Palestinian Prisoners Club warned of a surge in administrative detention, torture, forced starvation and medical neglect in Israeli prisons, alleging more than 100 detainee deaths.

A week later, Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben‑Gvir announced the extension of a ban on family visits to Palestinian prisoners classified as “security detainees” for another month. The move followed a Supreme Court ruling that declared a previous ban on International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) visits illegal, yet the broader restriction on family contact remained. Prisoner‑rights advocates warned that the continued isolation hampers monitoring of detention conditions and breaches international humanitarian law.

Together, the snapshots illustrate a pattern of tightening Israeli control over both civilian movement in West Bank refugee camps and access to Palestinian detainees, reflecting an ongoing escalation of restrictive measures against the Palestinian population.