RAMALLAH, (PIC)
The Israeli prison service (IPS) continues to commit physical and psychological atrocities against Palestinian prisoners from the Gaza Strip, according to new testimonies relayed by the Detainees and Ex-Detainees Commission and the Palestinian Prisoners Society from detainees in Ofer prison. They confirm ongoing torture and deprivation of medical care and food.
In a joint press statement released on Monday, the two rights organizations said that their legal teams recently managed to visit 15 detainees from Gaza in Ofer Prison. The detainees reported that they have been shackled 24/7 for over 10 months and are denied access to hygiene items like tissues and soap. They are only allowed to shower every ten days for three minutes, losing track of time in the process.
The testimonies indicate that the prison administration systematically uses an opening in the doors of their cells to punish them. Detainees are forced to extend their arms through the opening, after which guards use various tools to beat and violently bend their arms, causing unbearable pain.
They noted that this form of physical torture has become one of the primary daily torture methods, affecting all detainees, regardless of age or health status, including minors, the sick, the injured, and the elderly.
In a testimony from one detainee who has had his feet amputated (A.A.), he recounted that the prison administration forced fellow inmates to carry him so he could reach the cell opening to extend his arms. They beat him and severely bent his arms as a “punishment” for not being able to get off the “bunk”—the sleeping area for prisoners—during what is referred to as the “count.”
He added, “Even though my feet are amputated, the guards force me daily to get off the bunk and lie on my stomach on the ground until the counting of all the cells in the section is completed, which happens four times a day.”
He confirmed that since his arrest on February 15, 2024, he has been shackled at all times, suffering from severe pain in his arms, bruises, swelling, and intense burning sensations at the ends of his amputated legs.
The Commission and the Society clarified that the prison administration uses the “count” as a tool for torture and mistreatment of detainees, which is conducted four times a day. During this process, detainees are forced to lie on their stomachs until the count for all the cells is completed, lasting about two hours, and anyone who disobeys faces punishment through the cell opening.
Detainees spoke about their experiences during transfers to court sessions, noting that they are transported from 7:00 AM to the court and held in an “iron cage,” in the courtroom where they are forced to sit in uncomfortable positions (on their knees or stomachs) until the court proceedings are over.
Amid the ongoing crime of enforced disappearance perpetrated by the occupation against hundreds of Gaza detainees, there is no clear data from relevant institutions regarding the total number of detainees from Gaza in the occupation’s prisons and camps. The only information provided by the IPS at the beginning of November 2024 states that there are 1,627 detainees from Gaza classified by the occupation as “illegal combatants.” This figure does not include all detainees from Gaza, particularly those in camps operated by the Israeli army.
