UN report says Palestinian detainees in Israel subjected to torture, mistreatment
Human rights office also alleges ‘arbitrary detention’ of some prisoners, notes lack of Red Cross access, and for many, lack of access to lawyer
The UN human rights office issued a report Wednesday alleging that Palestinian detainees held by Israel since Hamas’s October 7 massacre have been subjected to torture, including waterboarding, sleep deprivation, electric shocks, the release of dogs, and other forms of mistreatment.
The report, issued by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), alleged that 53 Palestinian detainees have died in Israeli custody, noting that Israel’s Military Advocate General’s office has said it is investigating 35 deaths in custody and that announcements by the Israel Prison Service (IPS) and prisoners organizations “indicate that 17 Palestinians have died in the custody of the IPS.”
The OHCHR document also accused Israeli authorities of using “arbitrary, prolonged and incommunicado detention” in holding Palestinian detainees, and has detained “a staggering number” of Palestinians since October 7 in Gaza and the West Bank, mostly men and adolescent boys but also including women, doctors, and those claiming to be journalists and human rights workers.
As of the end of June, Israel was holding more than 9,400 “security detainees,” some of whom have been held in secret without access to lawyers, the report said.
The Prime Minister’s Office and the Foreign Ministry declined to comment on the report, and referred The Times of Israel to the Israel Defense Forces, which has been responsible for the detention of most Palestinian suspects since October 7 when the war against Hamas in Gaza began.
In response to the report, the IDF said that abuse of detainees contravenes the law, and that concrete examples of such behavior are investigated by the relevant authorities, including criminal investigations when necessary.
In its statement, the IDF acknowledged that there had been incidents of detainees dying since the beginning of the war, including detainees who were injured or sick when they were captured. It added that all incidents in which detainees die are investigated by the Military Police Criminal Investigations Division. The file is then passed to the Military Advocate General for a decision as to whether initiate a prosecution.
The Israel Prison Service said in response that it operates in accordance with the law and under the oversight of official inspectors.
“All prisoners are held in accordance with the law while observing their basic rights, and under the supervision of professional and trained prison combatants,” the IPS said.
“We are not aware of the claims described and as far as we know they are incorrect,” it added.
The IDF’s Military Advocate General’s office has begun to investigate alleged abuses of Palestinian detainees in recent months, in particular allegations of severe abuse and torture at Sde Teiman detention facility in southern Israel.
One IDF reservist who served as a guard at Sde Teiman was indicted on Tuesday for aggravated assault against a detainee, while 10 others were detained on suspicion of sexual violence against another detainee, eight of whom had their detention extended by a military court overnight Tuesday.
The OHCHR report said it was based on monitoring conducted by the OHCHR office in what it calls the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and “relies primarily on information gathered by OHCHR staff through interviews with Palestinian released detainees and other victims and witnesses of violations.” The UN agency also gathered information from Palestinian and Israeli governmental offices, other UN agencies and media and social media.
“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,” said UN human rights head Volker Türk in a statement.
Findings in the report, one of the most extensive of its kind, could be used by International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutors who are looking into crimes committed in connection with the Palestinian terror group Hamas’s October 7 assault on southern Israel, in which some 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage to Gaza, and the aftermath of that shock onslaught, including the ongoing Israeli military campaign in Gaza.
Torture and other forms of mistreatment are war crimes according to customary international humanitarian law and the ICC’s founding treaty, the Rome Statute, and is prohibited by international treaties Israel has signed.
The report noted that detainees were captured from Gaza, inside Israel and the West Bank, and that Israel has not provided information regarding the fate or whereabouts of many of them, adding that the International Committee of the Red Cross has been denied access to facilities where they are held.
The Hamoked organization, which provides legal aid to Palestinians, filed a petition to the High Court of Justice in February demanding that the government allow the Red Cross access to Palestinian detainees, and a hearing on the petition is scheduled for Sunday.
“Detainees said they were held in cage-like facilities, stripped naked for prolonged periods, wearing only diapers. Their testimonies told of prolonged blindfolding, deprivation of food, sleep and water, and being subjected to electric shocks and being burnt with cigarettes,” a summary of the report said.
“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,” it added. “Some women and men also spoke of sexual and gender-based violence.”
The report said the Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the West Bank, had also “continued to carry out arbitrary detention and torture or other ill-treatment in the West Bank, reportedly principally to suppress criticism and political opposition.”
On Tuesday, an Israeli military court began an initial hearing for nine soldiers detained over allegations of sexual abuse of a Palestinian detainee at Sde Teiman — a shadowy facility where Israel has held prisoners from Gaza during the war. The soldiers’ detention triggered angry protests by supporters demanding their release.
On Wednesday, the military court extended the detention of eight of the Israeli suspects until Sunday.
In response to a request for comment, the IDF told The Times of Israel that terror suspects caught in Gaza during the current war are brought to Israel for questioning, and anyone found not to be involved in terror activity is released back to Gaza.
“Acts of abuse against detainees during interrogation or while in detention contravene the law and IDF directives, and are totally forbidden,” the IDF stated.
“Concrete examples about unbecoming behavior by the prison staff are passed to the relevant authorities for examination and are dealt with accordingly. In specific instances prison staff who did not act as is expected and in accordance with site’s procedures have been removed from their position.
“When necessary, investigations are opened by the Military Police Criminal Investigations Division when there is a suspicion of irregular behavior which justifies it.”
The IDF added that “all instances of death are investigated by the Military Police Criminal Investigations Division,” and that “At the end of the investigation their findings are passed to the Military Advocate General.”
The war in Gaza erupted after Hamas’s attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, with Israel vowing to topple the terror regime in the Strip and secure the return of the hostages, 111 of whom remain in Gaza. Israel’s retaliatory operation has obliterated entire neighborhoods in Gaza and forced some 80% of the population to flee their homes. Gaza’s Health Ministry says over 39,000 Palestinians have been killed, without distinguishing between civilians and combatants in its count.
The OHCHR report also discussed the Israeli hostages taken captive by Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist groups, noting the “appalling conditions of captivity, including lack of food, water and poor sanitary conditions, and lack of fresh air and sunlight.”
The report also pointed to testimony by released hostages of being beaten while being taken into Gaza and witnessing other hostages being beaten while in captivity, receiving surgery or stitches without anesthetic, and “reports of sexual and gender-based violence in captivity.”
“International humanitarian law protects all those being held, requiring their humane treatment and protection against all acts of violence or threats thereof,” said Turk.
“International law requires that all those deprived of their liberty be treated with humanity and dignity, and it strictly prohibits torture or other ill-treatment, including rape and other forms of sexual violence. Secret, prolonged incommunicado detention may also amount to a form of torture.”
