Serious Allegations from UN Rapporteurs: “Israel’s Guantanamo”
Allegations of torture and sexual violence against Palestinians held in the Sde Teiman detention center in the Negev Desert are deeply unlawful and disgusting, the United Nations (UN) rapporteurs said, adding that this is “only the tip of the iceberg”.
“Israel’s widespread and systematic ill-treatment of Palestinian detainees and arbitrary detentions have been going on for decades. The lack of any restrictions since October 7, 2023, reveals a shocking picture of ‘absolute immunity’,” the statement said.
It said that around 9,500 Palestinians, including hundreds of children and women, are imprisoned by Israel, and that around a third of these people have not been charged or tried. It added that “an unknown number of people are being arbitrarily held in detention facilities and makeshift camps following a wave of arrests and abductions targeting men, women and children in the Palestinian Territories, particularly after October 7.”
It said there were confirmed reports of widespread harassment, torture, sexual assault and rape amid horrific inhumane conditions for Palestinians. It added that at least 53 Palestinians have been martyred as a result of such incidents in the past 10 months.
The statement recalls that it was “shocking” that political institutions and society in Israel supported the accusations of gang rape, especially against a Palestinian prisoner, and stressed that this situation “provides irrefutable evidence of the loss of the moral compass.”
The UN rapporteurs said that Israel’s torture of Palestinian detainees constitutes a preventable crime against humanity. “The practices of torture are irreparably illegal and constitute international crimes, but they are part of the modus operandi of Israel’s system of detention and torture,” it said.
The statement condemned the silence of UN member states following the emergence of testimonies and reports of alleged ill-treatment and torture, and called for pressure on Israel to implement a convincing system for accessing, monitoring and protecting Palestinian detainees.
It was also emphasized that these practices of Israel should be examined by independent and international rights human observers and made public.
UN special rapporteurs are part of the process known as the “special mechanisms of the Human Rights Council”, which carry out independent fact-finding and monitoring activities addressing the situation of a specific country or thematic issues worldwide. The experts of the special mechanisms within the institution carry out their work independently and on a voluntary basis.
