Saturday, August 03, 2024


Hundreds march for Palestinians held in Israeli jails


Ramallah (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – Hundreds of Palestinians marched to protest the treatment of prisoners held in Israeli jails on Saturday, following reports of abuse and even torture.

Issued on: 03/08/2024 - 

Palestinians hold up pictures of loved ones in Israeli custody at a rally in the West Bank city of Nablus called to protest recent reports of abuse and even torture 
© Zain JAAFAR / AFP


Relatives held up pictures of prisoners and waved Palestinian flags during separate demonstrations in Ramallah and Nablus in the occupied West Bank.

"Even if the whole world submits, we will not recognise Israel," chanted the protesters in Ramallah.

Thousands of Palestinians have been detained in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October, the United Nations human rights office said this week.

They have mostly been held in secret and in some cases subjected to treatment that may amount to torture, the OHCHR said in a report.

"For 10 months, we haven't known anything about our sons," Latifa Abu Hamid, a mother of four prisoners, all sentenced to life, told AFP.

"We want to check on them and see them. We want to know their situation... We want our sons."

According to the Prisoners Club, a Palestinian watchdog, about 9,700 Palestinians are currently in Israeli jails, including hundreds under administrative detention.

The NGO estimates that arrests have doubled since October 7 compared to the same period last year.

The OHCHR report said that since the October 7 Hamas attacks, thousands of Palestinians -- including medics, patients, residents and captured fighters -- have been taken from Gaza to Israel, "usually shackled and blindfolded".

"They have generally been held in secret, without being given a reason for their detention, access to a lawyer or effective judicial review," this week's OHCHR report said.

Testimonies for the report suggested that Israel had subjected prisoners to "a range of appalling acts, such as waterboarding and the release of dogs on detainees", UN rights chief Volker Turk said.

Israel did not comment but it has rejected previous critical reports, saying its prisons are run according to international law.

The UN report was released the day after Israeli military police questioned soldiers arrested on suspicion of sexually abusing a Palestinian detainee.

At the Ramallah demonstration, Umm Abdullah Hamed detailed how her brother, son and nephew had all been given multi-decade sentences.

"We feel like any family of a prisoner," Umm Abdullah Hamed, whose brother, son and nephew have all been sentenced to decades in prison, said at the Ramallah protest.

"We ask God Almighty to hasten their relief and freedom, God willing," she added.

The October 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,197 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Militants also seized 251 hostages, 111 of whom are still held captive in Gaza, including 39 the military says are dead.

Israel's retaliatory military campaign in Gaza has killed more than 39,550 people, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry, which does not provide details on civilian and militant deaths.

© 2024 AFP


Palestinians detained by Israel faced torture — UN report

July 31, 2024

The UN Human Rights Office has released a report detailing incidents of torture and mistreatment. UN rights chief Volker Türk said there were a "range of appalling acts" in violation of international humanitarian law.



The OHCHR said many detainees have been held in secret, without being given a reason for their detention, access to a lawyer or effective judicial review
Leo Correa/AP Photo/picture alliance

Thousands of Palestinians have been detained by Israel in violation of international human rights and humanitarian law, the United Nations said on Wednesday.

In a report, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights highlights arbitrary, prolonged, and, in some cases, secret detention of Palestinians since the October 7 Hamas terror attacks on southern Israel.

The report also includes allegations of torture and other degrading treatment, including sexual abuse of both women and men.

"The testimonies gathered by my office and other entities indicate a range of appalling acts, such as waterboarding and the release of dogs on detainees, amongst other acts, in flagrant violation of international human rights law and international humanitarian law," Volker Türk, the UN's high commissioner for human rights, said.

At least 53 detainees from Gaza and the West Bank have died in Israeli detention since October 7.

Thousands held in Gaza, Israel and occupied West Bank

The report is based on interviews with former detainees and other sources, including official Israeli government and Palestinian Authority information.

In Gaza, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have detained thousands of men and boys, as well as some women and girls, since it launched its military operation there in the wake of the October 7 attacks. The detains also included medical staff, patients and those fleeing the conflict, as well as captured fighters.

At the same time, the IDF started "daily mass, apparently arbitrary, arrests of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem," according to the report.

Türk, expressed serious concerns about the large number of people, including children, doctors, journalists and human rights defenders, who have been detained.

Beyond those detained in military-run detention facilities, Israel's prison service held more than 9,400 "security detainees" as of the end of June.




Violations of international law

Some detainees said they were held in cage-like facilities, stripped naked for prolonged periods, wearing only diapers and were denied access to toilet facilities.

Their testimonies described enduring prolonged periods of blindfolding, deprivation of food, sleep and water, as well as being subjected to electric shocks and burned with cigarettes.

Some detainees said dogs were released on them, and others said they were subjected to waterboarding, or that their hands were tied, and they were suspended from the ceiling.

Some women and men also spoke of sexual and gender-based violence.

Hamas and the Palestinian Authority also mentioned

The report also cited Hamas and other militant groups that have prevented the International Committee of the Red Cross from visiting the Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza.

It also said the Palestinian Authority continued to carry out arbitrary detention and torture or other ill-treatment in the West Bank, mainly to suppress criticism and political opposition.

The report's findings could be used by International Criminal Court prosecutors investigating crimes connected to the October 7 attacks and their aftermath, including Israel's ongoing military campaign in Gaza.

The prosecutors are seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on charges of war crimes.

They also issued arrest warrants for Hamas leaders, including Ismail Haniyeh who was killed by an airstrike in Iran on Wednesday morning.

Authors of the report said its content was shared with the Israeli government.

There was no immediate comment from Israel.

lo/ab (AP, AFP)

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