Ramallah / PNN /
Newly gathered testimonies of Palestinian political prisoners held by the Israeli occupation reveal high levels of ongoing abuse and torture, particularly of detainees abducted from the Gaza Strip, who are facing the highest rates and worst kinds of maltreatment.
Lawyers of the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS) visited detainees held at the notorious Sde Teiman military detention camp, the Ofer military camp, as well as the Naqab prison.
The testimonies reflect a wide array of crimes being practiced against detainees. These encompass various types of torture including water, sound and electric torture, severe physical assault, prolonged shackling, deliberately unsanitary living conditions leading to diseases, and medical deprivation among many other things. This level of abuse of detainees often leads to false confessions.
Detainees abducted from occupied Gaza who were visited in the Naqab prison told lawyers that they are held in sections with no toilets, forcing them to relieve themselves in buckets. Prisoners are also prevented from showering or changing their clothes for months at a time. Meanwhile, many detainees were made to believe by soldiers that their family members including their children were killed during the genocide, only to find out through lawyer’s visits months later that that information is false, in what is yet another form of psychological and mental torture.
Dozens of Palestinian detainees have been martyred in the occupation’s custody in an unprecedented rate of killings since the genocide in Gaza in October 2023. This has included both direct murder such as raping, torturing and beating prisoners to death, as well as indirect killings using intentional medical deprivation and other methods. Over the past few weeks, four detainees were killed in a matter of days.
Palestinian prisoner institutions affirm that the Israeli occupation holds full responsibility for every detainee who lost their lives in its custody as well as the for the fate of thousands more who remain behind bars. While there are at least 9,500 Palestinians in Israel’s custody, hundreds more detainees who were abducted from Gaza remain forcibly disappeared.
Torture, physical assault & abuse
Detainee (S.A.): “I was arrested from al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza. I was held in military camps for 97 days in the Gaza envelope. I was then held at Ofer Prison for 30 days, after which I was transferred to the Naqab prison. I was interrogated during my arrest and subjected to severe physical assault, causing deep wounds to my head and broken ribs. I was subjected to harsh interrogation for 30 days after my arrest, including the 'disco interrogation' torture method. I was subjected to this type of torture more than seven times, accompanied by beatings, deprivation of food, and permission to shower. In Naqab prison, I was also interrogated, and due to the intensity of the torture and beatings, I lost consciousness several times. This led me to make false confessions to things I didn’t do.”
Detainee (M.Y.): "I was detained with about 40 other men. They stripped us completely naked and made us wear white clothing they provided. During this time, we were continuously physically attacked and beaten with sticks and boots; no one was spared. This led to many being injured including myself. I suffered from prolonged nosebleeding without receiving any treatment. After about 24 hours, we were transferred to Sde Teiman military camp, where we were given prison uniforms. Until then, we remained in white clothes in the freezing cold while being beaten. I remained blindfolded and handcuffed for 14 days. I was also subjected to the 'disco' interrogation for 12 hours, where I was placed in a closed room with very loud music. Throughout this time, I was blindfolded. After I was exhausted from the sound, they tried to pressure me into cooperating with them, but I refused.”
Detainee (D.A.): “I was arrested in the morning hours after soldiers filmed me with a camera and told me I wouldn’t be able to go back to Gaza. In the afternoon, soldiers transferred other detainees and I by truck to the Sde Teiman camp. On the way, we were severely beaten. I was repeatedly beaten on my stomach and face. During this time, I remained handcuffed and blindfolded. When we entered the camp, they gave us prison uniforms, and I remained handcuffed and blindfolded for 12 days. During that time, I was forced to sit in humiliating and painful positions, especially on my knees. Inside the barracks of the prison, they deliberately took our mattresses daily and prevented us from lying down all day. This continued for 39 days. I was able to change my clothes for the first time after 72 days and was able to shave my head only after 110 days of my arrest.”
Detainee (N. W.): “My hands were tied and blindfolded the entire time. They forced us to sit in certain positions, specifically on our knees. Four days after my arrest, I was taken to meet with the intelligence services. I waited a full day for the interview, and throughout this period, I remained handcuffed in a very painful manner. Despite my request to loosen the handcuffs slightly, they refused. I also remained without food or drink throughout this period. I do not know which camp I was being held in at the start of my detention. My hands were tied and blindfolded the entire time, sitting on my knees. The place was very cold. After 21 days, I was transferred to the Sde Teiman camp, where I was severely beaten, specifically in the chest area. As a result, I started experiencing shortness of breath. We were electrocuted and hit with weapons.”
Starvation & skin diseases
Detainee (J.W.): "I still suffer from scabies and boils on my body. I was also severely beaten during my frequent transfers, and as a result, I have a broken tooth, which causes me severe and constant pain. I can no longer hear well out of my left ear after they poured water into it in a harmful way. The detainees are suffering from starvation. Only a small amount of food is provided. What is called a meal is barely a quarter of a meal for each detainee and the quality is unfit for human consumption. Detainees save the small pieces of food given to them throughout the day to eat them as one meal in the evening."
Detainee (K.Y.) is held with 55 others at the Sde Teiman military camp in what detainees are referring to as a ‘barracks: “We are subject to near-daily physical assault, repression, sound and gas bombs inside the barracks after being ordered to lie on our stomachs and to remain like that for a long period of time. The prison guards keep screaming at us and beating us when we are taken for interrogation. They also deliberately trip us while walking, while we are blindfolded and handcuffed during the transfer. We are subject to the whims of the soldiers practicing torture and humiliation against us.
Sometimes we are allowed to walk, but most of the time we remain seated on the metal beds, two prisoners per bed. We are not allowed to talk, and anyone who disobeys is punished by being shackled for hours next to the 'fence' – the area designated for shackling in the 'barracks.'"
Detainee (A. H.): "Upon my arrest, they separated the men from the women; the men were taken to a nearby building, and ordered to strip completely. They then attacked them with severe beatings while they were naked, and insulted and called them the worst names. After two hours, we were transferred in a truck, then to another location where we stayed for an entire night. Throughout this time, we were subjected to beatings and humiliation. They submerged our heads in water and they threatened us with murdering us. We were forced to kneel on the ground while naked, and we were forced to say, "Moses is the Messenger of God." Throughout the night, we remained naked in the freezing cold, bound and blindfolded. When we were transferred to the Sde Teiman camp, we were examined by a doctor, but he ignored our injuries. We were later transferred to the ‘barracks,’ where we remained for 90 days. We were also bound and blindfolded for another 20 days.”
Detainee (A. H.) added: “Repressive measures are systematic. About 20 days ago, they attacked us with sound bombs. One of these bombs exploded next to me, injuring my foot and shoulder. I did not receive any treatment, even though I suffered prolonged pain. These attacks occur on a weekly basis, sometimes multiple times a week. This did not stop during Ramadan. Before the pre-dawn meal, they stormed the barracks, forced us to sleep on the floor, and attacked us with beatings, insults, and hurled sound bombs at us.”
Detainee (Z. L.): “Upon my arrest, they handcuffed and blindfolded me. We were then taken to a building, then to an open area in the bitter cold. It was raining heavily. We were later transferred to the Sde Teiman camp. We were completely naked, and they were constantly cursing and shouting at us. Initially, we were placed in an arch-shaped barracks for 12 days. We were more than 70 detainees at the time. They had to sit the entire time with their hands tied and blindfolded. They were forced to keep the handcuffs on even when they needed to relieve themselves.”
Detainee (Z. L.) added: "The first time I was able to change my clothes after my arrest was on the 50th day." He also that they were subjected to violent beatings. There were detainees who were injured and bleeding as a result of the assault.” His head was hit against a wall, causing an eye injury, the marks of which are still visible, the lawyer who visited him said.
