Human rights organizations warn of systemic torture and inhumane treatment of Palestinian detainees in Israeli prison facilities since October 7; Call on the diplomatic community to take urgent action to mitigate harm

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Since Hamas’s attacks on October 7 and the ensuing outbreak of the war, the undersigned organizations, four prominent human rights groups based in Israel that regularly monitor detention conditions in Israeli prison facilities, have documented an unprecedented escalation in abuse of Palestinian detainees by Israel Prison Service (IPS) personnel. These violent acts include harsh physical assaults leading to severe injuries, sexual harassment and intimidation of both male and female detainees, and other acts of humiliation and threats aimed to silence the prisoners and deter them from reporting their abuse. Taken together with the six deaths of Palestinian detainees since October 7 under unclear circumstances, this systemic abuse amounts to a human rights crisis in Israeli prisons, which may echo through the already volatile region.

Despite serious limitations on access to prisons since the outbreak of the war - a policy that regrettably was upheld by the Israeli High Court of Justice - the undersigned organizations have managed to identify and verify 19 cases in which detainees have been severely abused by IPS personnel, in seven different detention centers throughout the country. Evidence gathered through court records, formal complaints filed with investigating bodies, visual documentation of injuries sustained and direct testimonies of detainees and their lawyers, includes:

Severe beating of detainees by IPS personnel, including punching, kicking, and hitting detainees with clubs, perpetrated either inside prison cells or while being transferred to court hearings. These assaults have caused serious and visible injuries, including bruises and fractures of ribs, nose and teeth;

Sexual assault, harassment and intimidation, of both male and female detainees: several prisoners told of beating a detainee whilst naked, including on their genitalia; threats of rape; sexual slurs and derogatory terms directed at them by IPS personnel. One prisoner reported that he witnessed incidents of forcible anal penetration with a foreign object; huddling naked detainees close together; and urinating on a detainee;

Other types of humiliation, including forcing detainees to crawl on all fours covered in the Israeli flag, while cursing themselves;

Threats meant to silence detainees for reporting abuse, using statements such as, “we have eyes in court”, “another detainee died in this prison a week ago and nobody asked about him” - often followed by actual physical violence by prison guards after court hearings, in which detainees dared to complain of their abuse.

The 19 cases must be examined together with the fact that since October 7, six Palestinians have died in Israeli custody - four of whom while held in IPS facilities, and two while held in an ad-hoc military camp-turned detention facility for Palestinian workers from Gaza whose stay permits were revoked at the start of the war. According to the IPS, the circumstances leading to these deaths - all men between the ages of 25 and 58 - are still being investigated, but initial evidence indicates that abuse by IPS personnel could have been the cause of death in at least two incidents. In itself, six deaths in under two months is an alarming and unprecedented figure, and against the backdrop of the numerous reports of physical abuse, is highly concerning.

In a letter sent on December 5, 2023, to Israel’s Attorney General and the IPS Commissioner, detailing the aforementioned incidents, the undesigned organizations argued that an individual examination of the incidents cannot suffice, as their prevalence and geographic distribution indicate systemic rather than isolated incidents of abuse perpetrated within IPS facilities. Thus, the organizations argued that such a phenomenon necessitates the direct intervention of the relevant authorities to ensure the halt of such egregious acts, to conduct a thorough investigation, and to immediately lift restrictions on external visits to prison facilities - including by lawyers and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

We urgently draw the diplomatic community’s attention to the systemic abuse of Palestinian prisoners, perpetrated far from sight in Israeli detention facilities. Failure to immediately address this crisis may cost detainees’ their health and lives - which may further destabilize the already war-torn region of Israel and the OPT. We urge you to call on Israel to immediately take all necessary measures to halt the abuse of Palestinian detainees; ensure that the perpetrators of abuse are held to account; maintain basic conditions of detention in IPS facilities as ordained by international law; ensure access to adequate medical care; and immediately allow access to the prison facilities, including by human rights lawyers and neutral observers such as the ICRC.

Signatories:
The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel
Adalah -The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel
Hamoked - Center for the Defence of the Individual
Physicians for Human Rights - Israel

Photo by Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90