Testimonies from 55 ex-Palestinian detainees reveal that greater than a dozen Israeli jail camps arrange after October 7 are devoted to the abuse of these in custody, a report by Israeli rights group B’Tselem says.
Israeli human rights group B’Tselem has collected testimonies from 55 Palestinians, together with 21 from the Gaza Strip, who had been held in Israeli prisons, detailing the torture they had been subjected to.
The B’Tselem report, titled Welcome to Hell, revealed on Tuesday that greater than a dozen Israeli jail services have been transformed right into a community of camps “devoted to the abuse of inmates” for the reason that begin of Israel’s battle on Gaza.
“Such areas, through which each inmate is deliberately condemned to extreme, relentless ache and struggling, function the truth is as torture camps,” it mentioned.
The violations embrace “frequent acts of extreme, arbitrary violence; sexual assault; humiliation and degradation; deliberate hunger; compelled unhygienic situations; sleep deprivation; prohibition on, and punitive measures for, non secular worship; confiscation of all communal and private belongings; and denial of ample medical remedy”.
B’Tselem mentioned at the very least 60 Palestinians have died in Israeli custody since October 7, together with about 48 folks from Gaza.
The report mentioned that detainee testimonies exhibit “a systemic, institutional coverage centered on the continuous abuse and torture of all Palestinian prisoners”.
This coverage, it mentioned, is carried out underneath the path of Minister of Nationwide Safety Itamar Ben-Gvir, with the total assist of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Given the severity of the acts, the extent to which the provisions of worldwide legislation are being violated, and the truth that these violations are directed on the total inhabitants of Palestinian prisoners each day and over time – the one attainable conclusion is that in finishing up these acts, Israel is committing torture that quantities to a battle crime and even a criminal offense towards humanity,” the report mentioned in its conclusion.
Name for ICC probe
It referred to as on the Worldwide Legal Courtroom (ICC) to analyze “people suspected of planning, directing and committing these crimes”, saying the probe was not attainable inside Israel “since all state methods, together with the judiciary, have been mobilized in assist of those torture camps”.
B’Tselem additionally famous that the variety of Palestinians held in Israeli jails has doubled to 9,623 for the reason that battle on Gaza started.
“We enchantment to all nations and to all worldwide establishments and our bodies to do the whole lot of their energy to place a direct finish to the cruelties meted out on Palestinians by Israel’s jail system, and to acknowledge the Israeli regime working this method as an apartheid regime that should come to an finish,” the group concluded.
There was no instant response to the report from the Israeli authorities.