Torture, sexual violence against Palestinian detainees 'war crime,' says Amnesty International

By Zuhal Demirci

LONDON (AA) - Israel’s inhumane treatment of Palestinian detainees at Sde Teiman Prison in southern Israel, including torture and sexual violence, are "war crimes,” according to an official of Amnesty International, a global human rights watchdog.

“In its recent research, Amnesty International documented the harrowing torture and other ill-treatment of Palestinian detainees at Sde Teiman military camp and other detention facilities,” Sara Hashash, deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International, told Anadolu.

Hashash added that in the context of an armed conflict, torture and other ill-treatment, including sexual violence, are “war crimes.”

She said the organization interviewed 27 former detainees -- all civilians arrested from the occupied Gaza Strip -- including 20 men, six women and one child, who were held for periods ranging from two weeks to up to 140 days in military or Israeli Prison Service-run detention facilities.

“All of them said that during their incommunicado detention, Israeli military, intelligence and police forces subjected them to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment,” she added.

- 'Blindfolded and handcuffed'

Those held at the notorious Sde Teiman military camp said they were “blindfolded and handcuffed for the entire time” they were detained there, she added.

She said they described being forced to remain in stressful positions for long hours and being prevented from talking to one another or raising their heads.

These accounts are consistent with findings of other human rights organizations and the UN bodies as well as numerous reports based on accounts of whistleblowers and released detainees, she added.

Regarding the reported gang-rape of a Palestinian detainee at the facility, she said the incident provided further evidence of the horrifying torture and other ill-treatment of Palestinian detainees that Amnesty International has already documented in its recent research.

Due to Israel’s poor track record on impartial investigation, she said there must be an independent impartial investigation by the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) Prosecutor’s office to ensure perpetrators are brought to justice and to deter future violations.

She highlighted the urgent need for Israel to grant immediate access for independent monitors to places of detention.

- ICC urged to investigate

“Amnesty International is calling on the ICC’s Prosecutor’s office to urgently investigate all allegations of torture, including sexual violence, against Palestinian detainees. The Israeli judiciary has a terrible record of failing to credibly investigate torture allegations by Palestinians,” she added.

The international community must also demand that the Israeli authorities grant “immediate and unrestricted access” for independent monitors to all places of detention to assess conditions, she added.

On Sunday, an Israeli military court decided to extend the detention of five soldiers accused of sexually assaulting a Palestinian detainee from Gaza at Sde Teiman Prison in the Negev desert in southern Israel, local media reported.

On July 29, Israel’s official broadcasting authority KAN reported that 10 Israeli soldiers had been detained after causing serious injuries to the Palestinian detainee, but five of them were later released.

Palestinian, Israeli and international human rights reports have recently indicated that prisoners from Gaza have been tortured at the prison, which has led to the deaths of dozens of them.

Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an attack last October by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

Nearly 39,600 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and nearly 91,400 injured, according to local health authorities.

Almost 10 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, which ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Gozde Bayar in Ankara