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UN PROBE FINDS ‘APPALLING ACTS’ OF TORTURE AGAINST PALESTINIANS
DETAINED BY ISRAEL  
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Edward Carver
July 31, 2024
Common Dreams
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_ The U.N. report found evidence of sexual violence, waterboarding,
and the use of dogs against detainees, many of whom were deprived of
food, water, sleep, and toilet access. _

Palestinians who were detained by the Israeli army and said they were
ill-treated, sheltering in a school in Rafah on Dec. 28, 2023., Photo
by Bassam Masoud/ Reuters

 

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on
Wednesday released a report detailing torture and abuse of
Palestinians at Israeli detention centers, including sexual violence,
waterboarding, and the use of dogs.

Israeli security forces have also used electric shocks, burned
detainees with cigarettes, and deprived them of food, water, sleep,
and toilet access, according to the 23-page OHCHR report
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based largely on interviews with released detainees. Some detainees
said they were held with their arms suspended from the ceiling; were
forced to be naked for prolonged periods, wearing only diapers; and
were blindfolded for extended periods.

Israel [[link removed]] security forces have
arrested thousands of Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza
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arbitrarily; they held more than 9,400 "security detainees" as of the
end of June, often in secret and incommunicado, without providing a
reason for the detainment, the report says.

"The testimonies gathered by my office and other entities indicate a
range of appalling acts, such as waterboarding and the release of dogs
on detainees, amongst other acts, in flagrant violation of
international human rights law and international humanitarian law,"
U.N. Human Rights chief Volker Türk said in a statement
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the report.

Most of the detainees have been men and adolescent boys, though some
are also women and adolescent girls, and there are many reported
instances of sexual and gender-based violence, the report says,
including "the forced nudity of both men and women; beatings while
naked, including on the genitals; electrocution of the genitals and
anus; being forced to undergo repeated humiliating strip searches;
widespread sexual slurs and threats of rape; and the inappropriate
touching of women by both male and female soldiers."

OHCHR also said it had video evidence of detainees filmed in
"deliberately humiliating positions" while handcuffed and blindfolded,
and noted it received "consistent reports" of Israeli security forces
"inserting objects into detainees' anuses."

Some detainees also reported "cage-like" facilities and overcrowding.
The report says that 13 to 20 male detainees were kept in cells
designed for five people, forcing many to sleep on the floor. There
were "poor living, hygiene, and health conditions, with reports of
water running only one hour per day over several weeks" and detainees
faced "exposure to cold temperatures due to the confiscation of
blankets and removal of windows panes in cold weather."

At least 53 Palestinian detainees have died in Israeli detention
centers since October, according to the report, which suggests that
the detention system appears "to constitute a collectively punitive
measure against Palestinians," citing the words of Itamar Ben-Gvir,
Israel's minister of national security, who has said that "terrorists"
deserve the most "stringent conditions." Male detainees reported
losing between about 55 and 120 pounds while in custody.

The OHCHR report comes as a highly controversial case involving
detention abuse unfolds in Israel. The Israeli military
is investigating
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soldiers for alleged "substantial abuse" of a Palestinian detainee who
reportedly had to be hospitalized and could not walk after they
attacked him. Far-right Israeli groups and political figures have
protested the investigation.

Concern about Israeli detentions of Palestinians has been high for
many months. In January, a Palestinian watchdog group issued a report
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disappearance of Gazans, and _The New York Times_ found evidence
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detainees being stripped and beaten.

Not all of the alarms about the situation in Israeli detentions
centers have come from abroad. In February, Israeli's public
defender's office issued a report calling for improved prison
conditions, including for Palestinians. In April, local human rights
groups called
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a closure of the Sde Teiman military base detention center, due to its
notorious conditions.

The calls were prompted in part by gruesome reports
including amputations
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limbs due to handcuff injuries. The United Nations Relief and Works
Agency for Palestine
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East then issued a damning report
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detainee treatment, including of its own staff, some of whom had been
detained and subjected to harsh interrogation.

Last week, Save the Children called
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an end to the Israel's arbitrary detainment of Palestinian minors,
with a regional director saying that "these children are trapped,
unable to move or see the sun, forced into crowded cells with
appalling, unsanitary conditions, and subject to severe abuse and
violence."

Experts said Wednesday that the OHCHR report served mainly to confirm
previous findings on Israeli detention centers. Neil Sammonds, a
campaigner at the U.K.-based progressive advocacy group War on Want,
said on social media that leaders of the new U.K. government haven't
spoken up about abuses at Israeli detention centers. He also said that
the report could be used as evidence by the International Criminal
Court, which has sought arrest warrants
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both Israeli and Hamas leaders.

The new report also addresses abuses of Israelis held by Hamas and
affiliated groups. The Palestinian militants killed roughly 1,200
people in a horrific set of attacks in southern Israel on October 7
and kidnapped about 250 Israelis, more than 100 of whom have since
been released. Like Palestinian detainees, the released Israelis
reported "appalling" conditions, the report says, including beatings,
receiving surgery without anesthetic, and sexual and gender-based
violence. The Israeli government has reported that 44 of the remaining
hostages in Gaza have died.

Both Israel and Hamas have refused to allow the International
Committee of the Red Cross to visit detainees or hostages. The OHCHR
called for both sides to allow such independent monitoring.

_Edward Carver is a staff writer for Common Dreams._

* Israel-Gaza War
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* Palestinian prisoners
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* Torture
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