Ketziot Prison
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| One of Israel’s most notorious torture prisons |
Ketziot Prison is an Israeli detention facility located in the Negev Desert 45 miles (72 km) south-west of Beersheba. It is Israel's largest detention facility in terms of land area, encompassing 400,000 m2 (40 hectares; 99 acres).
Background
During the First Intifada, Ketziot was the location of the largest detention camp run by the Israeli army. It held three-quarters of all Palestinians held by the army, and over half of all Palestinians detained in Israel.
According to Human Rights Watch, in 1990 it held approximately one out of every 50 West Bank and Gazan males older than 16.
Amongst Palestinians it was known as Ansar III after a similar prison camp set up in South Lebanon by Israel during the South Lebanon conflict (1982–2000).
Opened, closed, re-opened
Ketziot camp was opened in March 1988 and closed in 1995. It was re-opened in 2002 during the Second Intifada.
GSF participants imprisoned
On 2 October 2025, Novara Media reported:
Members of the Global Sumud Flotilla abducted by the Israeli military in international waters on Wednesday night are expected to be transferred to one of Israel’s most notorious torture prisons.[1] The Ketziot Prison, located in the Negev Desert, has been the site of repeated abuses against Palestinian prisoners.
In 2021, footage emerged of dozens of Palestinians shackled and thrown to the ground, while Israeli guards kicked and punched them in turn. No officers were ever charged.[2]
In 2023, a 38-year old Palestinian prisoner was beaten to death by a group of guards who wore helmets to disguise their faces. Thaer Abu Asab reportedly received a blow so hard that “a piece of his skull fell to the ground and blood filled the floor of the room,” according to his brother. Nineteen officers were investigated. None were prosecuted. Five we simply transferred to another unit.
And just last year, Israeli Human Rights Group B’Tselem released a report containing the testimonies of 12 Palestinians taken to Ketziot since October 7th. They described beatings with batons, torture, humiliation and sexual violence, as well as lack of sanitation and food, a failure of the guards to meet their basic needs.
Israel’s Flotilla prisoners are expected to be incarcerated in the prison for several days as a result of the Yom Kippur holiday, meaning that Israel will not begin deportations until Monday or Tuesday. Clare Azzougrah, whose 72-year-old RAF-veteran father Malcom Ducker has been detained, was told that all were being moved to the prison because “there are so many of them and they need to keep them together.” She added, “But I don’t believe them for a second.”
Novara Media has particular concerns for the safety of its journalist, @Kieran_Andrieu, a British journalist of Palestinian descent whose six siblings live in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Andrieu had intended, for his own safety, to sign a voluntary deportation order, allowing him to leave the country immediately. Now, given his heritage, Novara Media fears his health and life may be in grave danger if moved to the prison.
The British Foreign Office has said it is “very concerned”.[3]
References
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