UN demands probe into Israeli sexual assault of Palestinian detainees

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: News websites
8 Aug 2024 16:22
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The UN deputy spokesperson emphasizes the need for a detailed probe into reports of systemic torture and degrading treatment of Palestinian detainees by Israeli authorities.

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Israeli soldiers participating in the rape of a Palestinian prisoner who was later taken to the hospital in Sde Teiman detention camp in the Naqab desert, occupied Palestine (Social media)

The United Nations has called for a comprehensive investigation into human rights abuses against Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons following leaked footage of Israeli occupation forces (IOF) sexually abusing a Palestinian prisoner from Gaza at the notorious Israeli concentration camp Sde Teiman.

Farhan Haq, the UN deputy spokesperson, emphasized the need for a detailed probe into reports of systemic torture and degrading treatment of Palestinian detainees by Israeli authorities.

This call for investigation follows a report from the Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem, which revealed troubling testimonies from 55 former Palestinian detainees. The report described "inhuman conditions" and detailed that over a dozen Israeli prison facilities are functioning as "de facto torture camps."

The UN official emphasized during a press conference that the UN's call for an investigation was in response to the B'Tselem report, stating that "all of these allegations of violations of basic human rights norms must be thoroughly investigated, and there should be accountability."

“We also believe that whenever human rights norms are violated to this extent, there needs to be follow-up. Our human rights colleagues dealing with Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory will continue to follow up on all of these allegations,” Haq stressed.

It is worth noting that B'Tselem outlined various cases of abuse committed by Israeli prison authorities, including "arbitrary violence, sexual assault, humiliation and degradation, deliberate starvation, sleep deprivation, and denial of adequate medical treatment."

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Israeli Channel 12 broadcast surveillance footage of a squad of IOF selecting a detainee from among more than 30 others who are all blindfolded and lying on the ground. The inmate is then led to a corner.

According to the report, "It is clear that they know about the surveillance cameras, and try to hide their act with shields. The video contains documentation of the felony of the reservists: the act of sodomy in these circumstances."

The inmate then bled and was transferred to the hospital some hours later, with his condition described as "complex".

"The injury was caused by the insertion of an object," the station stated, citing a medical report.

According to Israeli media reports, Israeli troops deployed in the camp to guard Palestinian detainees have been torturing them and sexually abusing them for their own amusement.

Last week, dozens of settlers from far-right settler groups, some masked and armed, joined by other political activists, breached an Israeli military base, the site where Israeli occupation soldiers were detained for their questioning over severe moral violations and the extreme torture of the Palestinian detainee.

Reports confirm that one Palestinian detainee was subjected to gang rape by 9 or 10 Israeli soldiers and endured severe torture, resulting in paralysis and hospitalization. According to an Israeli Army Radio report, the abuse occurred approximately three weeks ago at the Sde Teiman detention facility.

Haaretz claimed that more than 30 detainees have died at the institution since October 7. Following widespread condemnation, the IOF began closing the site in recent weeks, and human rights organizations have petitioned the occupation's Supreme Court for a myriad of abuses at the facility.

Ben-Gvir audaciously stated that it was "shameful" for "Israel" to arrest "our best heroes," while Smotrich said that IOF soldiers "deserve respect" and must not be treated as "criminals".

Torture, sexual abuse of Palestinian detainees 'war crimes': Amnesty

"Israel's" brutal treatment of Palestinians at the Sde Teiman Israeli prison, which includes torture and sexual abuse, constitutes "war crimes", an Amnesty International official has lately asserted.

Sara Hashash, Amnesty International's deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, told Anadolu Agency that "in its recent research, Amnesty International documented the harrowing torture and other ill-treatment of Palestinian detainees at Sde Teiman military camp and other detention facilities."

Torture and other forms of ill-treatment, including sexual abuse, are considered "war crimes" during an "armed battle", as per Sara Hashash.

She also stated that when interviewed, 27 former detainees, including six women and one child, described being subjected to "torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment," adding that those held at Sde Teiman were "blindfolded and handcuffed for the entire time."

The detainees were also held in straining positions for long hours and forbidden from communicating or raising their heads, and their stories corroborate other human rights groups' conclusions and countless reports from freed prisoners.

Regarding the purported gang-rape of a Palestinian detainee at the institution, she stated that the event gave more proof of the horrible torture and other ill-treatment of Palestinian detainees that Amnesty International had already uncovered in its recent study.

She called for an impartial investigation by the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) Prosecutor’s office to ensure those guilty of abuses are brought to justice, urging the occupation to grant access for independent monitors to prisons.