Israeli Rights Group: Palestinians Face Systematic Abuse in Israeli Prisons

Soldiers lock a gate from the inside at Sde Teiman detention facility, after Israeli military police arrived at the site as part of an investigation into the suspected abuse of a Palestinian detainee, near Beersheba, in southern Israel, July 29, 2024. (Reuters)
Soldiers lock a gate from the inside at Sde Teiman detention facility, after Israeli military police arrived at the site as part of an investigation into the suspected abuse of a Palestinian detainee, near Beersheba, in southern Israel, July 29, 2024. (Reuters)
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Israeli Rights Group: Palestinians Face Systematic Abuse in Israeli Prisons

Soldiers lock a gate from the inside at Sde Teiman detention facility, after Israeli military police arrived at the site as part of an investigation into the suspected abuse of a Palestinian detainee, near Beersheba, in southern Israel, July 29, 2024. (Reuters)
Soldiers lock a gate from the inside at Sde Teiman detention facility, after Israeli military police arrived at the site as part of an investigation into the suspected abuse of a Palestinian detainee, near Beersheba, in southern Israel, July 29, 2024. (Reuters)

Thousands of Palestinian prisoners are facing systematic abuse and torture in Israeli jails since the war sparked by Hamas's October 7 attack, an Israeli human rights group said Tuesday.

Testimonies from 55 ex-detainees revealed "inhuman conditions", according to the report by B'Tselem, which said more than a dozen prison facilities were being used as "de facto torture camps".

"The testimonies clearly indicated a systematic, institutional policy focused on the continual abuse and torture of all Palestinian prisoners held by Israel," the report said, AFP reported.

Ex-inmates described "frequent acts of severe, arbitrary violence; sexual assault; humiliation and degradation, deliberate starvation; forced unhygienic conditions (and) sleep deprivation", it added.

The Israel Prison Service, the body that runs Israel's prisons, responded that "all prisoners are held legally, and their basic rights are fully provided by skilled and professional prison officers and commanders".

The report's allegations are "baseless", the body said in a statement sent to AFP, but added that all prisoners and detainees have the right to file an official complaint.

The Israeli military said "any abuse of detainees, whether during arrest or interrogation, is illegal and against (Israeli military) guidelines, and is strictly prohibited.

"The army categorically rejects allegations of systematic abuse, including sexual abuse, in its detention facilities."

The B'Tselem dossier comes a week after a United Nations report said Palestinian prisoners were subjected to treatment that may amount to torture.

On Monday, a panel of UN experts also warned of the "escalating use of torture" by Israel against Palestinian prisoners since the war in Gaza began.

Last month, Israel's military said nine soldiers were being held for the suspected abuse of a Palestinian detainee at a facility holding Palestinians arrested from Gaza.

B'Tselem said Israeli authorities declared a "prison state of emergency" on October 18, 11 days after the Hamas attack on Israeli soil that triggered the Israel-Hamas war.

The report said "unrelenting physical and psychological violence, denial of medical treatment, starvation, withholding of water, sleep deprivation and confiscation of all personal belongings" are now applied across all prisons.

The number of Palestinians in Israeli prisons and detention facilities has almost doubled since before the war to 9,623 by early July, nearly half of them detained without trial and without being informed of the allegations against them, B'Tselem said.

"More than a dozen Israeli prison facilities, both military and civilian, were converted into a network of camps dedicated to the abuse of inmates," the report added.

"Such spaces, in which every inmate is intentionally condemned to severe, relentless pain and suffering, operate as de facto torture camps."



Aoun Leading Efforts to Avert Shiite Boycott of New Lebanese Govt

A handout photo made available by the Lebanese Presidency Press Office shows Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (C) attending a meeting with Lebanese parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (L) and Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, Lebanon, 14 January 2025. (Lebanese Presidency Press Office)
A handout photo made available by the Lebanese Presidency Press Office shows Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (C) attending a meeting with Lebanese parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (L) and Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, Lebanon, 14 January 2025. (Lebanese Presidency Press Office)
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Aoun Leading Efforts to Avert Shiite Boycott of New Lebanese Govt

A handout photo made available by the Lebanese Presidency Press Office shows Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (C) attending a meeting with Lebanese parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (L) and Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, Lebanon, 14 January 2025. (Lebanese Presidency Press Office)
A handout photo made available by the Lebanese Presidency Press Office shows Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (C) attending a meeting with Lebanese parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (L) and Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, Lebanon, 14 January 2025. (Lebanese Presidency Press Office)

Lebanon’s Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam arrived in Beirut on Tuesday to kick off parliamentary consultations to form a new government.

He assured that it will “not exclude anyone”, but seek “unity and partnership.”

Asharq Al-Awsat learned that President Joseph Aoun is leading efforts to avert a Shiite boycott of the new government after the “Shiite duo” of the Hezbollah and Amal movement, which is led by parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, refrained from naming Salam for the position of PM during Monday’s consultations.

Their abstention has raised fears that the new government will not be constitutional without the representation of the largest Shiite parties in the country.

Reports have said that the duo may boycott the parliamentary consultations to form a government that Salam will hold on Wednesday.

Sources said the duo may skip the first day of talks, which will conclude on Thursday, to demonstrate its “annoyance” with the developments.

Berri, however, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the “situation is not that negative”. He did not elaborate on the duo’s next steps.

Moreover, Asharq Al-Awsat learned that French President Macron had even intervened to avoid a dispute over the government, holding telephone talks with Aoun and Berri.

Salam’s appointment as prime minister came as a major shock given the large number of votes he won from the parliamentary blocs, compared to his predecessor Najib Mikati and against the will of the Shiite duo. In past years, Hezbollah has repeatedly blocked Salam from becoming prime minister.

Aoun stressed the need to “avoid placing obstacles in the government formation process.”

Aoun held a meeting with Salam at the presidential palace on Tuesday before later being joined by Berri, who left the palace without making a statement.

After the talks, Salam spoke before reporters to express his gratitude to parliament and the people for entrusting him with the “difficult task of serving Lebanon” and “achieving the people’s dreams.”

“It is time to open a new chapter that is rooted in justice, security, progress and opportunity, so that Lebanon can be a nation of free people who are equal under their rights,” he added.

On the possible boycott of the Shiite duo, he said he was against exclusion and on the contrary supported unity. “This is my sincere call, and my hands are extended to everyone,” he added.

The formation of a government in Lebanon often takes months due to political wrangling.

Aoun said on Tuesday that Lebanon has a “very major opportunity that we should all seize.”

He received a delegation from the Supreme Islamic Shiite Council.

“Obstacles must not be placed in the formation process,” he urged. “We must send positive signals to the international community that Lebanon can govern itself, carry out reconstruction transparently and build the state that we are all calling for.”

“If one segment of Lebanon is broken, then the whole country will break,” he stressed, saying Monday’s consultations to appoint Salam were a democratic process and that the public interest remains the top priority.

Aoun, who was elected last week, added that he has declined visits from well-wishers over his election “out of respect for the martyrs” who were killed during Israel’s war on Lebanon, which ended with a ceasefire in November.