UN: Torture and ill-treatment of prisoners from Gaza in Israel
Published: Wednesday, Jul 31st 2024, 09:30
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At least 10,000 Palestinians from the Gaza Strip are being held in Israeli custody "under deplorable conditions", according to a report by the UN Human Rights Office. There are reports of mistreatment and torture, the office said in Geneva. At least 53 people have died in Israeli custody.
The hostages abducted from Israel to the Gaza Strip last October also reported mistreatment, the office said.
The report covers the period since October 7, 2023, when terrorists from the Gaza Strip attacked Israel, killed around 1,200 people and abducted around 250 hostages in the Gaza Strip. In addition, thousands of Palestinians were taken into custody in the occupied West Bank and in Israel.
Reports of atrocities in captivity
Regarding the treatment of the Palestinians, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, said: "The testimonies that my office and others have received indicate a series of atrocities." According to the testimony, dogs were let loose on the prisoners and others were waterboarded. This is a torture method that simulates drowning. According to Türk, both would be blatant violations of human rights and international humanitarian law.
Most of the people were brought to Israel bound and blindfolded. Most of those affected were men and teenagers, but also women. They are being held without charge and without contact to lawyers.
People reported that they were held in cage-like crates, were naked for long periods and had to wear diapers. They were deprived of food and water and prevented from sleeping. Some reported electric shocks, cigarette burns and sexual violence.
Israel has not yet commented on the report.
Hostages also reported mistreatment
Hostages abducted in the course of the terrorist attack by Hamas and other extremists in the Gaza Strip on October 7 and later released reported that they had been beaten during their capture and had often been given too little to eat and drink. They also reported sexual violence.
The report also criticizes the Palestinian Authority for arbitrarily arresting and sometimes mistreating opposition members in the West Bank.
Türk demanded the immediate release of the remaining hostages. The arbitrarily captured Palestinians must also be released. All allegations of mistreatment and torture must be investigated immediately.
Arrest of Israeli soldiers
This week, Israeli military police arrested nine soldiers at the Sde Teiman military base near the desert town of Beersheva for allegedly sexually assaulting a terrorist from the Islamist terrorist organization Hamas so severely that he had to be taken to hospital with injuries. Following the arrest of the soldiers, there was massive unrest in Israel.
On Tuesday, Israel's military prosecutor brought charges against a soldier for the alleged mistreatment of Palestinian prisoners. He is accused of using "serious violence against the prisoners entrusted to his care" between February and June of this year while securing the transportation of so-called security prisoners to Israeli detention centres.
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