Rights advocates slam ‘systemic abuse’ in Israeli prisons

In the shadow of the war raging in Gaza, record numbers of Palestinian detainees are filling Israeli prisons, where they face “systemic abuse” and torture, rights advocates warn, calling for international action.
Members of several Israeli NGOs travelled to Geneva this week to raise concerns before the United Nations about a major “crisis” inside the country’s prisons. “We are extremely, extremely concerned,” said Tal Steiner, the executive director of the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI).
“What we’re looking at is a crisis,” she said.
She said nine people had allegedly died behind bars since October first week, according to Israeli sources.
And “there are almost 10,000 Palestinians in Israeli custody right now, ... a 200% increase from any normal year”.
While the UN and others have long raised concerns about conditions for Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons, Steiner said the situation had worsened dramatically since war erupted in Gaza.
The conflict began in the first week of October after an unprecedented storming by Hamas fighters. Israel’s offensive inside Gaza has since killed more than 31,000 people, mainly women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
“During the military onslaught on Gaza, there’s been a crisis within Israeli detention facilities and prisons that has been really left ignored,” said Miriam Azem of the Adalah legal centre. The centre is dedicated to protecting the rights of Israel’s Palestinian citizens.
Her organisation had managed to document “19 clear cases” of torture within the Israeli prison system just since October first week, including sexual violence, she said.
“We’re seeing really widespread and systemic use of many, many tools in order to inflict torture and ill-treatment on Palestinians.”