Bethlehem / PNN /
The Detainees' and Ex-Detainees' Affairs Commission and the Palestinian Prisoners' Society (PPS) reported that lawyer Khaled Mahajna managed to visit detained journalist Mohammad Saber Arab, 42, who worked as a correspondent for Al-Arabi Channel. Arab was arrested 100 days ago by Israeli forces in Gaza during a raid on the Al-Shifa Medical Complex last March.
According to a statement from the two organizations, the visit took place under strict restrictions and supervision by Israeli occupation soldiers. Arab's first question to the lawyer was, “Where am I?”, indicating that he was unaware of his detention location in Sde Teman camp.
Mahajna conveyed Arab's harrowing testimony, adding to the horrific and appalling reports from other released Gaza detainees about degrading detention conditions. Arab spoke of slain detainees, torture, abuse, humiliation, and rape.
Arab revealed that detainees were shackled and blindfolded 24 hours a day. For 50 days, Arab wore the same clothes, only changing his pants just before the visit, while he had not changed his jacket for 50 days.
He described continuous torture, abuse, and various forms of assault, including rape, which led to the deaths of some detainees. Beatings, humiliation, and insults were rampant, and detainees were forbidden from speaking to one another under threat of severe beatings, forcing them to pray and talk to themselves secretly. Religious practices were also prohibited.
Arab recounted the dire conditions of sick and wounded detainees, mentioning that some had limbs amputated or bullets removed without anesthesia. Detainees were constantly surrounded by police dogs, allowed minimal bathroom time, and punished for exceeding it. They slept on the ground, using their shoes as pillows, bathed once a week for a minute, and were not permitted to sleep during the day.
Fifty days after his arrest, Arab was allowed to shave his hair. Meals consisted of a few bites of labneh and a piece of cucumber or tomato, served continuously.
Through lawyer Mahajna, Arab sent a message to the world and international human rights institutions, describing their treatment as akin to the genocide faced by Palestinians in Gaza. He called for immediate action to save them and to continue highlighting their suffering.
The Detainees' and Ex-Detainees' Affairs Commission and the Palestinian Prisoners' Society emphasized that this visit confirmed the horrific crimes against prisoners in Israeli detention camps, specifically highlighting the brutal conditions Gaza detainees have faced since the beginning of the war of genocide.
