The images of the bombings, famine and destruction of Gaza show the
level of horror reached by Israel. But it is important not to forget thePalestinian prisoners, at a time when testimonies of torture, rape,
inhuman and degrading treatment are multiplying, painting the portrait
of a real concentration camp system. ---- The situation of Palestinian
prisoners is little known and little discussed, including on the left.
At best, it is mentioned in passing. At worst, organizations in
solidarity with Palestine are outright criticized for talking about
their situation[1]. However, it is imperative to denounce the arbitrary
arrest, humiliation, torture, rape and their worsening since October 7.
Palestinian News & Information Agency (Wafa) in contract with APAimages
A system of arbitrary detention
Who are the Palestinian prisoners? Often minors, and most of the time
people arrested for a trivial offense, or no offense at all. A teenager
because during a checkpoint checkpoint Israeli soldiers found photos of
another checkpoint on his phone; a man wounded near a battlefield in
Gaza and considered, for this reason, to be a fighter; a woman arrested
near a hospital where Israel claims that fighters are hiding...
"Administrative detention" allows these people to be kept in prison
without the slightest justification for six months. At the end of this
period, a parody of a trial (without any right to defense) allows the
imprisonment to be extended for another six months. And so on, sometimes
for years.
In July, a UN report estimated the number of people in administrative
detention at 1,100. In December, this number rose to 1,310. In April, to
3,600.
A battery of laws has been passed since last December to create another
detention regime, even more permissive. The status of "illegal
combatants," which is that of people kidnapped in Gaza.
This gives the army total license to lock up people without charge or
arrest warrant, and without access to a lawyer. This is a real carte
blanche to kidnap without the slightest judicial control, without the
army even having to inform the victim's relatives.
If we add to this that no Israeli law formally condemns torture[2], we
understand better why the Shin Bet (Israeli secret service) explains to
the New York Times that all interrogations are "conducted in accordance
with the law."
Justin McIntosh
Military bases, or concentration camps?
For several months, a real concentration camp system has been put in
place, within this legal framework. Terrifying reports are coming from
the camps of Sde Teiman in the Negev desert, Ofer and Anatot. These are
military bases that have been transformed into what must be called
concentration camps. Sde Teiman appears to be the largest of these three
centers[3].
A comparison of satellite images from September 2023 and March 2024 by
CNN shows that "more than 100 new structures, including large tents and
hangars" were built in a matter of months, greatly expanding the camp's
infrastructure[4].
The testimonies we have from these camps are horrifying. The imprisoned
people must remain handcuffed for days, causing serious injuries to
their wrists, arms and legs. A former doctor at the camp describes
amputations as a result of these injuries as "routine".
They are often left half-naked, wearing only diapers and are forbidden
to go to the toilet. They are required to keep their eyes blindfolded,
forbidden to move or speak. At the slightest disobedience, the soldiers
beat them for hours, until they break their bones and ribs, or force
them to stand for hours with their hands above their heads by tying them
to the barriers.
At night, these people are handcuffed to their beds, while, under the
pretext of searching, the soldiers release dogs on the detainees. In the
former military hospital annexed to the Sde Teiman base, detainees,
almost naked and handcuffed to their beds, are left at the mercy of
young medical interns who are ordered by the army to carry out
operations for which they are not trained.
Torture and mass rape
The New York Times investigation describes a veritable
institutionalization of rape and torture in the context of
interrogations. The imprisoned people, always blindfolded and wearing
only a diaper, are first kept in rooms where extremely loud music is
played, to the point of causing bleeding in the ears, to prevent them
from sleeping.
In addition, the testimonies collected by the New York Times describe
multiple methods of torture, including the use of electric chairs, and
rape using a metal bar, perhaps electrically charged[5]on which the
soldiers forcibly sit the detainees.
The use of sexual violence by the Israeli army in the context of arrests
or interrogations is frequent: strip searches, often in front of
families, are frequently a pretext for sexual assaults and rapes[6].
According to the New York Times, 4,000 people have experienced the hell
of Sde Teiman since October, and 35 deaths have been confirmed. This
figure is probably well below the reality, since the occupation
systematically refuses to return the bodies of those it murders.
The dismantling of the Israeli prison system, its concentration camps,
its administrative detention, its army of torturers, must be at the
center of our concerns for the decolonization of Palestine.
International Relations Commission
Exergue 1: In July, 3,600 people in administrative detention Exergue 2:
More than 100 new structures have been built
Validate
[1]For example, an "open letter to the organizations that converge
within Urgence Palestine", published on February 20 on Mediapart,
reproaches Urgence Palestine for writing that not "mentioning
Palestinian prisoners, men, women and children imprisoned in Israeli
jails, is to act as the mouthpiece of the Israeli government and its
army", referring to this sentence as proof of UP's indifference towards
Israeli hostages.
[2]Israel is a signatory to a UN convention on the subject, but has been
careful not to translate it into its laws - and for good reason. See the
article by Janan Abdu, "The writing was on the wall for Israel's torture
of prisoners", 972 mag.com.
[3]The information we have is extremely partial, so caution is advised:
it is possible that the testimonies we have to date are only a small
part of the reality.
[4]Most of the information on Sde Teiman published in this article comes
from two sources: "Sde Teiman: "Israeli whistleblowers detail abuse of
Palestinians in shadowy detention center" CNN and, "Inside Sde Teiman,
the Base Where Israel Detains Gazans." New York Times.
[5]One of the testimonies mentions an "electric stick."
[6]See the article by Yumna Patel: "New reports confirm months of
Israeli torture, abuse, and sexual violence against Palestinian
prisoners," Mondoweiss
https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Genocide-en-Palestine-Israel-a-developpe-un-systeme-concentrationnaire
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