Itamar Ben-Gvir Boasts Of Starving Palestinian Detainees In Israeli Prisons

Itamar Ben-Gvir, the Israeli far-right minister in charge of national security, boasted during a Supreme Court hearing that he would ensure Palestinian detainees receive only the "minimum of the minimum" of food.

Ben-Gvir made the remarks while discussing a petition filed by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) seeking an end to the systematic reduction of food provided to Palestinian detainees, and he wrote on X that the court was debating whether the menu is "balanced, healthy, and vitamin-rich."

Al-Khaleej

The Anadolu Ajansı report said the hearing followed growing criticism from rights groups about deteriorating detention conditions for Palestinian prisoners, many of whom had reportedly lost a lot of weight since Ben-Gvir took office at the end of 2022.

Anadolu Ajansı also cited the Israeli Prison Service figure that there are currently 10,762 Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons, while human rights groups continue to report cases of torture, serious medical neglect, and harsh detention conditions.

Amnesty International France, meanwhile, described Palestinians in Gaza as victims of arbitrary detention and torture under the Law on the Incarceration of Illegal Combatants, which it said allows Israeli authorities to detain indefinitely without indictment or trial.

Amnesty International France said the Law on the Incarceration of Illegal Combatants was enacted in 2002 and now gives the Israeli army broad powers to detain for indefinitely renewable periods anyone from Gaza it suspects of having participated in hostilities against Israel or of posing a threat to the state’s security.

The organization argued the law is contrary to international law and said it enables torture of people detained arbitrarily in secret, adding that secret detention and deprivation of the right to a fair trial violate international law even in the context of a state of emergency.

Al-Quds al-Arabi

Amnesty International France described a December 2023 provisional amendment tightening conditions of secret detention, including that during the first 45 days of detention the army is not required to issue a detention order and that the law deprives detainees of contact with a lawyer for a period of up to 60 days.

The report said detainees must be presented to a judge for judicial review within a maximum of 75 days after their arrest, but that in practice judges often automatically approve detention orders in mock proceedings.

In a separate account of the carceral system, En attendant Nadeau said Israel released 39 Palestinian detainees (24 women and 15 children) on 24 November last as part of a prisoner exchange deal with Hamas.

WAFA reported that Israeli occupation forces detained Palestinian youth Mohammad Abu Ghaliyeh in the Al-Mushtal area of Al-Eizariya, east of occupied Jerusalem, and assaulted his brother, Yahya Abu Ghaliyeh, during a raid on Sunday.

“Living under the threat of bombs is not the only scourge Palestinians have faced daily since October 7, 2023”

Amnesty International France

WAFA said local sources told it that occupation forces stormed the Al-Mushtal area in Al-Eizariya and arrested Muhammad Abu Ghaliyeh after raiding the property, and that they also assaulted his brother, Yahya, during the raid.

WAFA added that the structure owned by Abu Ghaliyeh is among those threatened with demolition by the occupation authorities in the area, and it said the occupation authorities continue their policy of restricting Palestinian residents in Jerusalem neighborhoods through demolition orders, raids, and arrests.

Amnesty International France framed the stakes as legal and procedural, saying the Law on the Incarceration of Illegal Combatants allows Israeli authorities to detain indefinitely, without indictment or trial, Palestinians from the occupied Gaza Strip whom it suspects of having participated in hostilities against Israel or of posing a threat to the state’s security.

The Anadolu Ajansı report, in parallel, said ACRI accused Ben-Gvir of attending the hearing "to cause a scene, or even disrupt the hearing or intimidate the judges" while no decision had yet been issued by the Court.