Torture and neglect: Harrowing testimonies from Ofer detention camp

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
18 Nov 2024 09:30
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The Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners Society have raised concerns over a significant increase in the number of people abducted from Gaza amid the Israeli genocide.

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Israeli soldiers transfer abducted Palestinians out of the Gaza Strip, on November 21, 2023. (AFP)

The Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners Society have reported an alarming rise in the number of detainees from Gaza amid intensified military operations in the region.

According to the two organizations, over 1,000 people have been abducted from northern Gaza, reflecting a surge in "Israel’s" campaign of detentions and war crimes.

In a recent statement, the groups highlighted that the Israeli occupation continues to enforce forced disappearances against hundreds of detainees, leaving no clear data on the total number of those abducted from Gaza.

Early November figures from the Israeli prison administration indicated that 1,627 detainees from Gaza are classified as "unlawful combatants", a number that excludes many detainees in detention camps, it added.

Harrowing accounts of torture

Recent visits by legal teams to Ofer Camp have uncovered harrowing accounts of torture, medical neglect, and inhumane conditions, as per the statement.

One detainee, a double amputee identified as A.A., described during the visits being subjected to repeated beatings. He recounted being lifted by his cellmates to the cell door opening to extend his hands out up until the armpits, where guards violently struck and twisted his arms as punishment for his inability to participate in roll calls.

"Despite my amputated legs, the Israeli administration forces me daily to lie on the ground on my stomach for hours during inspections," he testified, adding that he has been shackled continuously since his arrest in February 2024, causing severe pain and injuries.

The testimonies also revealed that detainees are systematically deprived of basic necessities, including hygiene products, and are only allowed to shower once every ten days for a maximum of three minutes. Inspections, conducted four times a day, involve detainees being forced to lie face down for extended periods, with noncompliance resulting in physical punishment.

The organizations further emphasized the brutality of the so-called "security inspections", a daily torture method in Ofer Camp. These inspections occur four times daily, from early dawn until midnight. During each inspection, detainees are forced to lie face down on the ground for approximately two hours while all cells are inspected. Any deviation from these procedures results in punishment, often involving the use of the cell door opening to inflict physical abuse.

Additionally, detainees recounted the harsh conditions during transport to court sessions. Starting at 7:00 am, they are confined in a "metal cage" and forced to sit in uncomfortable positions (on their knees or stomachs) until court proceedings conclude.

The two organizations strongly condemned these practices, describing them as part of a broader pattern of abuse and systematic torture, and urged international organizations to intervene and hold "Israel" accountable for its violations of international law.

Israeli prisons' medical neglect policy kills 2 Palestinian detainees

Last week, the General Authority for Civil Affairs, the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, and the Palestinian Prisoners Society announced the martyrdom of two Palestinian detainees who were held in Israeli occupation prisons: 61-year-old Samih Suleiman Muhammad Alawi, from Nablus, and 44-year-old Anwar Shaaban Muhammad Asleem from Gaza.

The Commission of Detainees Affairs and the Prisoners Society emphasized in their statement that both Alawi and Asleem were victims of systematic crimes committed by the Israeli occupation through slow death and deliberate medical neglect, compounded by repeated abuse and continuous maltreatment of detainees.

The statement added that such crimes are part of a long-standing policy of the occupation against Palestinian detainees, ranging from torture to medical neglect, leaving them to suffer and succumb to illnesses.

It noted the increasing crimes against Palestinian detainees, particularly amid the ongoing genocidal war on Gaza. Many sick detainees have seen their conditions worsen, with the occupation refusing to provide treatment, further increasing the death toll among detainees.