Palestinians imprisoned in Israeli jails face inhumane conditions and are subjected to torture methods, including systematic violence, food deprivation, and medical neglect, according to a report.
A document prepared by the Public Defender’s Office and cited this Thursday by The Times of Israel confirms that so-called “security” detainees suffered severe and systematic violence at the hands of prison guards.
They also faced unsanitary conditions that caused and exacerbated disease outbreaks in the prisons, the document stated.
According to the newspaper, the report was prepared by inspectors from the Public Defender’s Office who visited four of these facilities in 2024 and documented “seeing skeletal prisoners and witnessing physical evidence of beatings and medical neglect on the bodies of the prisoners they interviewed.”
The officials described the prison conditions as unfit to house human beings and warned of “unnecessary and unjustified violence” against the inmates. They emphasized that these abuses are carried out regularly and on numerous occasions.
As an example, they cited three visits to Ketziot prison, during which inmates reported numerous abuses. “They showed us their wrists with red welts, swelling, and scabs,” the report states, clarifying that the beatings are carried out in places where there is no surveillance camera coverage.
They also reported being restrained with handcuffs or ties so tight they caused physical injuries, and being forced to walk in unnatural positions to alleviate the pain.
The prisoners we met were very thin, some extremely so, and their ribs and pelvises were clearly protruding, the inspectors detailed.
Although the documents provided a general overview of the detainees’ harsh conditions, they did not include details of specific allegations that could be criminal in nature because these were submitted in a confidential report to the Attorney General’s Office, the newspaper noted.
The Times reported that prison commanders denied the existence of systematic violence.
However, the publication recalled, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who has authority over the Prison Service, repeatedly boasted about the harsh conditions he imposed on Palestinian prisoners.
It also highlighted the systematic complaints from lawyers, non-governmental organizations, and released prisoners on this issue.
Last September, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that the state had failed to fulfill its legal obligations to adequately feed Palestinian security prisoners
[ SOURCE: PRENSA LATINA ]
