High Court demands update on prison conditions at Sde Teiman detention facility

The High Court of Justice orders the state to update it on the prison conditions of Hamas and other terrorist combatants in the Sde Teiman detention facility.

The decision comes in response to a petition by several human rights organizations demanding the closure of the Sde Teiman facility owing to allegations of severe human rights abuses against detainees.

The court demands in particular to be informed of conditions regarding the food provided to prisoners, health care, and hygiene, among other terms of incarceration laid out in the 2002 law for unlawful combatants.

Israel is holding some 1,000 “unlawful combatants,” meaning Hamas and other terrorist operatives captured in Israel on or after October 7 during the fight to clear southern Israel of invading forces, or in Gaza during the IDF’s ongoing campaign there.

The government has already committed to shuttering Sde Teiman in the wake of the petition, but the court’s decision on Sunday appears to demonstrate its concern over the situation at the facility.

The petitioning organizations have alleged that the physical abuse of detainees at Sde Teiman and the poor conditions of their incarceration could constitute war crimes.