UN Receives Reports of Brutal Abuse of Palestinians in Israeli Detention

(MENAFN) Since October 7, 2023, reports of extensive torture and abuse against Palestinian detainees by Israeli authorities have reached the United Nations, sparking urgent calls for an independent international investigation.

These reports were submitted by the Palestinian Return Centre (PRC), a UK-based organization with special consultative status at the UN Economic and Social Council, as reported by media.

The testimony relies on detailed records compiled by Khaled Mahajneh, a lawyer linked to the Palestinian Authority’s Commission for Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs. According to the PRC, these cases mark a sharp increase in what they describe as systematic torture and mistreatment.

Reported abuses include extreme physical beatings, intentional starvation, extended suspension in agonizing positions, denial of medical care leading to fatalities, dog attacks, and amputations performed without anesthesia.

The PRC also documented an incident of rape by an Israeli prison guard against a Palestinian detainee inside a detention center. These testimonies have been verified by internationally recognized human rights organizations, including Physicians for Human Rights–Israel and B’Tselem.

Most detainees from Gaza are reportedly confined in secret military locations, such as Anatot and Sde Teiman camps. The PRC claims these facilities operate without any legal supervision, denying detainees access to legal counsel and barring visits from the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Israeli authorities are accused of assigning politically charged labels like “unlawful combatants” and “terrorists” to detainees in order to circumvent protections under international humanitarian law. The PRC demands the immediate formation of an independent international investigation into the allegations of torture and sexual violence and insists these cases be included in ongoing reviews by the International Criminal Court.

The organization called on the global community to exert pressure on Israel to comply with fundamental international prisoner treatment standards, warning that silence or mere symbolic condemnation “amounts to political complicity” in the ongoing abuses.

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