Israeli probe body finds harsh conditions for Palestinian detainees at notorious Sde Teiman Prison

By Anadolu staff

JERUSALEM (AA) – An Israeli committee tasked with investigating the conditions of Palestinian detainees at the controversial Sde Teiman Prison recommended its closure on Tuesday after discovering harsh conditions for inmates and proposed relocating them to other jails.

The advisory committee, led by retired judge Major General Ilan Schiff, was assigned to investigate the conditions of Palestinian detainees at Sde Teiman Prison, Israeli public broadcaster KAN reported, adding that the committee has presented its findings to army chief Herzi Halevi.

The committee's recommendation came after significant international pressure on Palestinian detainees' conditions at the notorious prison, which were described as harsher, with inmates being continuously handcuffed and blindfolded.

The committee primarily recommended that the detainees not be under Israeli army authority for an extended period and to be transferred to prison service responsibility and that the Sde Teiman Prison be removed from the inmates, according to KAN.

Israel's Army Radio said that 10 soldiers are accused of gang molestation of a Palestinian detainee from Gaza at the Sde Teiman Prison in in the Negev desert in southern Israel. Nine soldiers were detained for questioning as part of an investigation into the abuse.

Several reports have surfaced of severe abuses against Palestinian detainees at the notorious prison since the beginning of Israel's ongoing offensive on the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli army is believed to have detained thousands of Palestinians, including women, children, and medics since Oct. 7, 2023.

In recent months, the army has released dozens of Palestinian detainees from Gaza in deteriorating health conditions, with their bodies bearing torture scars.

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian group Hamas.

More than 39,360 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and nearly 91,000 injured, according to local health authorities.

Over nine months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar​​​​​​​