UN report finds Palestinian detainees subjected to 'appalling' mistreatment

Detainees held in 'cage-like facilities, stripped naked for prolonged periods, wearing only diapers'

Palestinians detained by the Israeli army, who say they were mistreated, shelter in a school in Rafah, in December 2023. Reuters

The UN human rights office released a report on Wednesday stating that Palestinians detained by Israeli authorities since the October 7 Hamas attacks have been held in prolonged secret detention and subjected to “appalling” forms of torture and mistreatment.

The report, which covers the period from October 7 to June 30, relied on information gathered through interviews with released detainees as well as witnesses of violations, the Geneva-based UN human rights office said.

“The testimonies gathered by my office and other entities indicate a range of appalling acts, such as waterboarding and the release of dogs on detainees, among other acts, in flagrant violation of international human rights law and international humanitarian law,” said UN human rights chief Volker Turk.

The report findings said detainees were held in “cage-like facilities, stripped naked for prolonged periods, wearing only diapers”.

“Their testimonies told of prolonged blindfolding, deprivation of food, sleep and water, and being subjected to electric shocks and being burnt with cigarettes,” it said.

The findings also revealed that Israel’s prison service has detained more than 9,400 Palestinians, including medical staff and patients, journalists, activists and people fleeing the conflict, in addition to captured fighters.

The detainees have been taken from Gaza to facilities in Israel and the occupied West Bank “shackled and blindfolded”, with some held in secret without “access to lawyers or effective judicial review”.

According to the UN, there have been regular, at times daily, raids of prison cells, removal of personal items and limited access to personal hygiene items.

The report also claimed that Israel has subjected detainees to “harsh conditions”, including overcrowding, with between 13 to 20 male inmates in cells designed to accommodate five, and 10 female inmates in cells designed to accommodate six.

The report added that the International Committee of the Red Cross has been denied access to facilities where the detainees are being held.

At least 53 detainees from Gaza and the West Bank have died in Israeli detention since October 7, it found.

Mr Turk called for the immediate release of all hostages in Gaza, and said all Palestinians arbitrarily detained by Israel must also be set free.

“Secret, prolonged incommunicado detention may also amount to a form of torture,” he said.

The report said the Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, had also “continued to carry out arbitrary detention and torture or other ill-treatment in the West Bank, reportedly principally to suppress criticism and political opposition”.

On Wednesday, an Israeli military court extended the detention of eight of the nine soldiers detained following an investigation ordered by the military's advocate general into “suspected substantial abuse of a detainee held in the Sde Teiman detention facility”, an army representative told The National.

Sde Teiman is a military base in the Negev desert, which the army has used as a detention facility since the war in Gaza began. Details about the facility are scarce, but reports say it includes holding areas and a medical section.

It was supposed to be only a temporary holding facility for people suspected of terror offences but has now grown into Israel’s largest detention centre.

The soldiers’ arrest led to angry protests by supporters demanding their release.