Israel to systematically torture Palestinian prisoners
An Israeli human rights group has raised serious allegations. Palestinian prisoners in the country's prisons are reportedly subjected to humiliation, abuse, and sexual violence, according to a report. A spokesperson denied these claims but acknowledged harsher conditions.
A human rights organization has accused Israel of systematically torturing Palestinian prisoners in its prisons. The Israeli organization B'Tselem has collected testimonies from 55 former Palestinian prisoners in a report titled "Welcome to Hell," detailing severe abuse and violence. According to B'Tselem, over 9,600 Palestinians are currently being held in Israeli prisons, with about half of them not having official charges.
The Israeli military is currently investigating allegations of severe sexual abuse of a Palestinian terrorist by soldiers at the military base Sde Teiman in the Negev desert in southern Israel. The UN Human Rights Office recently reported that at least 53 people have died in Israeli custody.
"Testimonies show the results of the hasty conversion of more than a dozen military and civilian prisons into a network of camps serving the purposeful abuse of inmates," B'Tselem wrote in the report. "Facilities where every inmate is intentionally exposed to constant, severe pain and suffering effectively function as torture camps."
Is the Prison Service Taking Organized Action?
"The abuse described consistently by dozens of individuals held in various facilities was so systematic that it is undoubtedly an organized, declared policy of the Israeli Prison Service," B'Tselem wrote. This policy, it said, was implemented under the guidance of far-right police minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, with the full support of the Israeli government and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The unprecedented Islamic Hamas and other Palestinian groups' terrorist attack on Israel on October 7 has deeply traumatized Israeli society and "awakened deep-seated fears and a desire for revenge in many," B'Tselem wrote. The right-wing religious government has exploited this to "implement their racist ideology by using the oppression mechanisms at their disposal."
Army Investigates Allegations
B'Tselem is an Israeli human rights group funded by donations, advocating against the occupation of Palestinian territories and for equal rights for Jews and Palestinians. An Israeli army spokesperson said the allegations are being investigated.
A spokesperson for the Israeli Prison Service said all prisoners are held in accordance with the law and their basic rights are respected. The allegations by B'Tselem have not been officially communicated to the service, "and as far as we know, they are baseless."
They also noted that since the start of the Gaza war ten months ago, the conditions for so-called security prisoners have been tightened on the instructions of Ben-Gvir.
The Israeli military is conducting an investigation into allegations of severe sexual abuse against a Palestinian terrorist by its soldiers. The report by B'Tselem accuses the Israeli Prison Service of implementing an organized policy of systematic abuse, under the guidance of Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, which has been exploited by the right-wing government.
