Sexual violence, abuse rampant in Israeli evacuee hotels
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Reports have emerged indicating that Israeli women and children are facing instances of sexual violence within hotels designated for evacuees.
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Israeli occupation forces stand by as Israeli settlers throw stones at Palestinians in the West Bank on October 13, 2022. (AFP)
A welfare expert informed a Knesset panel on Tuesday that an Israeli girl residing in a hotel designated for evacuees from settlements was subjected to sexual assault by an Israeli man who also lived in the same hotel.
Israeli media reported that the revelation occurred during a special session addressing high rates of instances of sexual and physical abuse involving women and minors evacuated to hotels following Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.
“An evacuee resident exposed himself and urinated in front of children at the entrance of a hotel,” Maya Oberbaum of the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in "Israel" told the committee as quoted by The Times of Israel.
An evacuated settler reported that she was sexually assaulted by a man who was also evacuated to the same hotel with her.
Oberbaum continued, providing additional instances of sexual and physical violence experienced by women and children within the hotels.
Furthermore, she noted that there have been accounts of sexual abuse within educational facilities set up for evacuated settlers, adding that a security guard has reportedly assaulted a young girl.
An Israeli police representative informed the panel on Tuesday that 116 cases involving evacuees residing in hotels have been opened, with 40 of them being related to domestic violence.
Expressing concern that hotels are turning into a "pressure cooker", Kahan informed the committee that women residing in the hotels frequently experience harassment from groups of men, as per the report.
In summary, hotels designated for Israelis evacuated in the past months amid the Israeli aggression on Gaza are grappling with a surge in crime, violence, and sexual assaults. The alarming situation underscores a culture of rape and violence among Israeli settlers.
Read more: Another rape in 'Israel' with a top rabbi involved
Josh Paul details sexual violence in Israeli prisons against minor
During an interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour in December 2023, Josh Paul, who served as the director of congressional and public affairs for the State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs for over 11 years, recalled an incident when he was formerly a part of the human rights vetting process for arms going to "Israel".
At the time, Paul detailed how a charity called the Defense of Children International - Palestine drew the attention of the State Department to "credible allegations" of a 13-year-old Palestinian raped in al-Mascobiyya detention center in the western part of Al-Quds.
The former US official emphasized that it was important to condemn atrocities that happen "every day to Palestinians in the West Bank."
After bringing the allegations forward to the Israeli regime, Paul recalled that the very next day, the Israelis “removed their computers and declared them a terrorist entity."
Following the complaint, Israeli forces raided DCIP offices twice, on July 19, 2021, and August 18, 2022, when their offices were raided and "sealed off" alongside the offices of seven other Palestinian NGOs, in what Amnesty International described as a "campaign of repression against Palestinian civil society."
In November 2023, Paul acknowledged that US officials are deliberately overlooking Israeli war crimes due to domestic policy concerns and actively suppressing opposition to providing military support to the regime.
"It is my opinion that Israel is committing war crimes in its actions in Gaza right now. And it’s not just my opinion. I’ve actually heard from officials across government, including elected officials at a very senior level, who share that opinion but aren’t willing to say it in public," Paul told AFP.
His resignation in October stirred controversy in Washington, as he conceded that "criticism of Israel is often seen as a third rail in American politics, particularly in Congress." He highlighted that this perception acts as a deterrent for US officials to publicly express what they privately believe.
