UN Report Reveals Israel's Military Atrocities Torture Palestinian Prisoners: Take Off Dogs To Cells To Waterboarding Interrogation

UNSPLASH/Umanoide ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA - A report by the United Nations human rights office explained that thousands of Palestinians were forcibly transferred from Gaza, sometimes from bomb shelters, and dragged into detention in Israel. Some of them have been tortured and dozens have died.

Many of those arrested in Gaza since the war began on October 7, 2023 were taken to checkpoints as they fled Israeli military attacks or from schools and hospitals where they took refuge, a 23-page report said largely based on interviews with released prisoners including victims and witnesses.

Often, they turn a blind eye and are 'flagged' before being transported to Israel and placed in military centers like cages and forced to wear nothing. The UN report says 53 prisoners were killed in detention.

"Witness gathered by my office and other entities shows a series of horrific actions, such as waterboarding (interrogation with the method of waterwatersorbing) and releasing dogs into custody, among other actions, which constitutes a marked violation of international human rights law and international humanitarian law," UN Human Rights High Commissioner Volker Turk said in a statement accompanying the report.

Waterboarding, aka siram-water interrogation, is an interrogation technique imposed on detainees by tying their hands and faces, then covering their heads and pouring water.

Turk called for their immediate release and the release of remaining hostages from 253 people kidnapped in Israel in the October 7 attack that killed 1,200 people.

The Israeli military said it was investigating allegations of abuse against detainees at facilities in Israel but declined to comment on specific cases.

Israel previously stated plans to phase out Sde Teiman's camp in the Negev desert which is touted in the UN report and by Palestinian human rights groups as locations for abuse of prisoners.

Reports of mistreatment of prisoners in Israeli prisons have increased in recent months.

Generally they are detained in secret, without being given reason for detention or access to lawyers, the report said.

The prisoner issue has added to international pressure on Israel for its actions in the Gaza war, which is now approaching the start of the 11th month.

In May, the US State Department said it was investigating a case of sexual harassment by Israel against Palestinian prisoners.

It also sparked domestic tensions in Israel where this week far-right protesters entered a military complex where Israeli soldiers will be interrogated as part of an investigation into alleged abuse of Palestinian prisoners.

The UN report also refers to the dire conditions experienced by Israeli hostages in Gaza, including the lack of fresh air, sunlight and beatings, citing testimony from those released.

The Palestinian prisoners detained in Israel are mostly boys and boys and include a number of people such as local residents, doctors and nurses as well as their patients, as well as Palestinian fighters who were arrested, the report said.

Some of them became victims of sexual violence, he said, without mentioning the number of incidents.

The report, which was shared with the Israeli government and Palestinian authorities, did not say how many prisoners had been released. A UN spokesman said it was impossible to determine.