Israel turned prisons into 'hell' with torture

By Muhammed Emin Canik and Khaled Yousef

JERUSALEM (AA) - The Israeli army has implemented a policy of harassment, torture and medical neglect against detained Palestinians, according to a report by the local non-profit organization B'Tselem.

Women, children, doctors, health workers and civil defense personnel have been among those detained in Gaza since Israel's ground invasion on Oct. 27, 2023.

- Prisons turned into 'torture camps'

"Prisoners’ testimonies lay bare the outcomes of a rushed process in which more than a dozen Israeli prison facilities, both military and civilian, were converted into a network of camps dedicated to the abuse of inmates," said the report.

The report highlighted that before Oct. 7 last year, when Israel launched its onslaught on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas, the number of Palestinians in Israeli prisons was 5,192, while the number of Palestinians in prisons and detention centers since July this year has almost doubled to 9,623.

While there is no official data on the number of Palestinians detained by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip, Israeli media has reported that at least 4,500 Palestinians have been detained in the enclave.

- Sde Teiman: Israel's ‘Guantanamo'

Israel’s Sde Teiman detention facility in the Negev desert, where inhumane crimes including sexual abuse and torture were found to have been committed against Palestinians detained by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip, is considered one of the detention centers where Palestinians are treated most severely.

A report by the not-for-profit organization the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) said that physical and psychological violations were committed against Palestinians at Sde Teiman, which is called Israel's “Guantanamo.”

Ten Israeli soldiers at the facility were detained on charges of raping a Palestinian prisoner, prompting harsh regional and international criticism of the government.

Right-wing extremist Israelis opposed to the detention of the soldiers forced their way into Sde Teiman and broke into the Israeli military court building at the army's base in Beit Lid.

Among those who stormed the military base were Israel's far-right Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu, ruling Likud Party deputy Nissim Vaturi and Zvi Sukkot of the Religious Zionist Party.

The Israeli soldiers were investigated and placed under house arrest without indictment on Aug. 13. Israeli human rights organizations described the move as an approach to allow soldiers and army commanders to escape punishment.

Israeli human rights activists have also called for an investigation into what they describe as the “suspected torture” of Palestinians, warning that this could cause damage to the government, reaching as far as the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

ICJ Prosecutor Karim Khan announced on May 20 that he had applied for an “arrest warrant” against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

- Death of 48 Palestinians in Israeli prisons

Israel’s Haaretz newspaper reported on July 29 that the Israeli army is investigating the deaths of 48 Palestinians in Israeli prisons.

Most of them were detained in Gaza and 36 of them died at Sde Teiman.

On Sept. 18, Israel's Supreme Court rejected a request by human rights organizations to close Sde Teiman, despite evidence of violations at the detention center.

On June 30, Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called for the execution of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons by “shooting them in the head instead of giving them food and water.”

On July 8, Ben-Gvir pressed to keep Sde Teiman open, claiming that the detention center's “overcrowding” with detained Palestinians “is a good thing."

On Sept.12, he stepped up his far-right rhetoric, demanding an additional budget to build 5,000 new detention centers to double the number of Palestinians detained in Israel's war in Gaza.

“Since the beginning of the war, the prison crisis has been one of the most sensitive security issues and has still not been resolved,” the local Yedioth Ahronoth daily reported on Sept. 12.

Haaretz reported that “in addition to Sde Teiman, Megiddo Prison in northern Israel is another prison where horrific crimes against detained Palestinians are constantly committed and systematic torture is practiced.”

Leaked documents from Megiddo record numerous cases of horrific attacks and torture against hundreds of detained Palestinians, including the use of dogs to humiliate detainees.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7 last year, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

More than 41,800 people have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 96,800 injured, according to local health authorities.

The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the territory amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.

*Writing by Serdar Dincel in Istanbul