Palestinians Dying in Israeli Jails Since October Highest in Decades

The number of Palestinians who have died under torture in Israeli detention since October 7 is the highest since 1967, as per a report by the Commission for Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners Society.

Since October, “Israel” has detained over 9,400 Palestinians from the occupied West Bank and abducted thousands from Gaza and hundreds from the 1948-occupied territories, according to the two organizations.

“Detainees are subjected to torture and various forms of abuse, including sexual assault and rape,” the report said.

Since October, at least 18 Palestinians, along with an unspecified number from Gaza, have died while in Israeli custody.

The organizations dealing with Palestinian detainees’ rights explained in a statement that the occupation arrested 16 Palestinians in the Jenin Governorate, and the occupation continued to detain nine of them, including a member of the Fatah Revolutionary Council, Jamal Haweel, while the other arrests were carried out in areas across al-Khalil, Beit Lahm, Ramallah, Nablus, and occupied al-Quds.

It is worth noting that from yesterday evening, Wednesday, until Thursday morning, Israeli occupation forces arrested at least 28 Palestinians from various areas of the West Bank, including a student from al-Khalil, in the south of the West Bank, and former detainees.

This brings the total number of Palestinians detained in the West Bank since October 7 to 9,430.

UN Committee accuses Israelis of sexual abuse, dehumanizing prisoners

A UN commission examining human rights breaches in the occupied Palestinian territories accused Israeli occupation forces (IOF) Tuesday of raping, degrading, and dehumanizing Palestinian men, women, and children in their custody.

The statement explained that “multiple stakeholders reported a stark increase in sexual harassment, sexual abuse, the threat of rape, and rape itself, including with foreign objects, against men, women, and even children, as well as intimidation through the use of dogs.”

The Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs in the Occupied Territories declared its members were “shocked” by the degree of impunity of the IOF who committed dreadful violations of Palestinian rights.

According to the committee, they are “publicly and shamelessly sharing photos on social media platforms that violate the privacy and intimate sphere of Palestinian women, aimed to mock, shame, and humiliate them.”

On June 12, an independent global panel under UN auspices declared that Israeli authorities were accountable for several war crimes and crimes against humanity perpetrated in Gaza since October 7, 2023. 

In March, an internal report by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (UNRWA) detailed the violence against Palestinian detainees in Israeli detention centers, such as beatings, dog attacks, extended use of stress positions, and sexual assault. 

Based on interviews of over 1,000 Palestinian detainees released at the Karem Abu Salem crossing point since December, in the presence of UNRWA staff, the report said that there were 29 children as young as six (26 boys and three girls), 80 women, and 21 UNRWA staff, some of whom had chronic conditions, such as Alzheimer’s or cancer. 

“Detainees reported being taken on trucks to large makeshift ‘military barracks’ housing 100-120 people each, where they were held, often for weeks at a time, in between periods of interrogation at a nearby location,” the UNRWA document said.

The report included accusations of widespread sexual assault. Women reported being groped while blindfolded, and many male prisoners said they were beaten in the genitals.

Released Palestinian detainees recount horrors in Israeli jails

Palestinian detainees recently released by the Israeli occupation have spoken out about their ordeals at the hands of the Israeli jailers, including inhumane treatment and abuse.

Palestinians, who were abducted by “Israel” without charges since the beginning of the war on Gaza, have retold harrowing tales of systemic mistreatment by prison personnel and reported being beaten by Israeli troops. 

Speaking from Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza, they recounted violent and degrading treatment, including blindfolding and handcuffing inmates in small cages.

“We have left but we call on you to get the rest out,” implored former detainee Ataa Shbat from the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza after his release.

Shbat expressed that many detainees thought they were presumed dead by their families.

“People are dying. Torture which you cannot imagine unless you taste it [experience it]. Suffering which you cannot imagine unless you experience it,” he recalled.

In a related development, a disabled Palestinian man from Khan Younis endured months of imprisonment under Israeli occupation. Upon his release, devastating health conditions emerged: he had lost one eye, suffered brain hemorrhaging, and undergone surgical removal of his spleen and part of his colon without his consent. His health remains precarious, highlighting the severe toll of his detention.

‘Israel’s’ use of attack dogs: Reports of rape and terror, more canines expected

In another chilling account, a Palestinian captive recounted the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) used attack dogs to rape Palestinians in Israeli prisons.

These incidents have prompted widespread condemnation and renewed calls for international intervention to address numerous human rights violations by “Israel”.

According to the newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, “Israel”, which faces accusations of killing animals and deploying attack dogs against injured Palestinians in Gaza, is anticipating the arrival of new canines from Germany and the Netherlands.

The use of attack dogs to harm and attack is not new, and the Israeli military has reportedly used them against immobile and vulnerable injured Palestinians in Gaza, including women and children.