Freed Palestinian women prisoners reveal torture in Israeli jails Between feelings of deep joy at her release from an Israeli prison and feelings of deep sadness over the suffering of the people of Gaza who paid the price for her freedom, Yasmine Abu Srour recalls the details of her life in detention.
Yasmine was arrested by the Israeli army in December 2023 and released on January 19 under a prisoner exchange deal between Hamas and Israel. She describes her detention experience as the most difficult ever.
The 26-year-old from Bethlehem has been arrested four times by Israeli forces, and she has spent three years of her life behind bars.
“My first arrest was when I was only 16," Yasmine tells The New Arab. "I was very afraid at the time, especially as I had never been away from my mother.”
She adds: “Inside the Israeli prisons, there was no life in the true sense of the word. The prison administration deprived us of our most basic human rights. There was no sufficient food, no clean water, we were never given any personal hygiene tools. We lived in very harsh conditions, which became worse after October 7, 2023."