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Prisoners describe torture
On the occasion of World Day in Support of Victims of Torture, Palestinian prisoners released from the Gaza Strip described violations and systematic torture they said they endured inside Israeli detention centers and prisons.
Al Jazeera Mubasher quoted Gaza City resident خضر بكر عبد العال, who said he was arrested from the Shifa Medical Complex on March 18, 2024, after remaining in Gaza City since the outbreak of the war on October 7.
He said detainees were transported in large trucks carrying about 150 people, then divided into groups inside small buses where they were shackled with iron hand and ankle restraints and forced to wear prison clothes.
He also recounted that when he told a doctor about a chronic skin disease, the doctor replied, according to him, "I’m not here to treat you, I’m here to torture you," before he was moved again to detention locations.
Abdel Aal said he spent 91 days inside the detention center سدي تيمان, describing it as "a continuous chain of torture," including a ban on talking and prayer and restrictions on bathroom use to a few minutes per day.
Charges dropped, backlash
On Thursday, March 12, Israeli Army General Prosecutor Itay Offir announced the dropping of charges against five soldiers accused of beating, electrocuting, and stabbing a Palestinian prisoner in the buttocks.
L’Humanité reported that Offir said prosecutors believed they "lack essential evidence," and justified the decision by the victim's return to Gaza, the conduct of senior officials of the Military Advocate General's Corps, and procedural difficulties transferring investigative documents.
Sari Bashi, executive director of the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, criticized the decision, saying, "The Israeli military prosecutor general has just given free rein to his soldiers to rape, as long as the victim is Palestinian."
Suhad Bishara, legal director of Adalah, also criticized the move, noting that "those who torture Palestinians do not risk having to account for it."
The same report said the five reservists were charged with "aggravated mistreatment" and "serious bodily harm" at the Sde Teiman military detention center, and that medical records showed injuries including a punctured lung and rectal injuries.
Hamas demands accountability
On the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, Hamas called for the trial of Israeli leaders over what it described as crimes of torture and systematic violations against Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
“On the occasion of World Day in Support of Victims of Torture, Palestinian prisoners released from the Gaza Strip provided, via Al Jazeera Mubasher, detailed testimonies about the violations and systematic torture they were subjected to during their detention inside Israeli detention centers and prisons”
Al-Markaz al-Filastini li-l-I'lam said the movement urged that leaders "not escape accountability" and called for intensified international pressure to protect prisoners and work toward their release.
It added that Hamas said the violations include psychological and physical torture, denial of medical care, visitation, and food, alongside solitary confinement and detention conditions it described as “inhumane” against thousands of prisoners.
Qanat Naba' al-Fada'iyyah similarly said Hamas called for prosecuting the leaders of the Israeli occupation for torture crimes and the systematic violations against prisoners and detainees, and to prevent them from going unpunished.
Both statements framed the day as an opportunity to expose what they described as a policy of torture followed by the Israeli government against Palestinian prisoners and detainees, and they urged the United Nations and human rights and humanitarian institutions to take serious steps to stop the violations and pressure Israel to release prisoners.
