File photo shows Israeli forces transferring abducted Palestinians out of the Gaza Strip. (Photo by AFP)
Geneva, July 10 (RHC)-- Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, says the torture of Palestinians at notorious Israeli jails has become commonplace since October 7, 2023.
“Since October 7, torture against Palestinian prisoners has become widespread and systematic. Both male and female detainees have been subjected to sexual violence, including rape,” she said.
She made remarks in a social media post while responding to a post about the 2024 gang-rape of a Palestinian prisoner by guards at the notorious Sde Teiman detention facility. Albanese said the assault was “not an isolated case – it’s part of a pattern.”
Elsewhere in her remarks, the UN expert said this was not only a matter of “cruelty: inflicting severe physical or mental harm on members of a group, as such, is a constitutive element of genocide.” “How much more evidence do people need to understand what is happening?”
A series of new “shocking” testimonies from Palestinians have revealed the “systematic torture and abuse” against Gazans held in Israel’s prisons. Testimonies document repeated beatings, threats, starvation, and isolation against female prisoners.
The Palestinian Prisoners’ Media Office has released a statement on the latest situation of female Palestinians currently languishing behind bars in Israeli jails and detention centers.
Thousands of Palestinians from the West Bank have been kidnapped by Israel since October 7, 2023. Thousands more have been “forcibly disappeared” from the Gaza Strip.
Figures by the Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) show more than 450 children and 50 women are among about 10,800 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
The number, which is the highest recorded since 2000, does not include detainees held in Israeli military camps.
Israeli authorities earlier said they had begun transferring prisoners from Sde Teiman, a former military base in the Negev desert after rights groups demanded the closure of the site.
[ SOURCE: PRESS TV and NEWS AGENCIES ]
