Palestinians subjected to ‘severe torture’ under Israeli detention: Euro-Med

An international human rights organization says the terrible health conditions in which Palestinians were released from Israeli prisons indicate a pattern of torture and abuse until the very last moments.

“All prisoners and detainees were released under appalling conditions by the Israeli occupation forces, who also stormed their homes and locations designated to receive and celebrate their release. They attacked family gatherings, suppressing them with tear gas and bullets and injuring some people,” the Geneva-based Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor said in a statement on Monday. 

Israeli violations “turned into a systematic policy of retaliation against all Palestinian prisoners and detainees” who were subjected to “severe torture, intentional starvation, and prolonged solitary confinement as part of punitive measures that ramped up brutally after the events in the Gaza Strip,” the organization said.

The rights organization earlier said the Palestinians from the Gaza Strip being held by Israel were being subjected to premeditated murder and arbitrary execution outside the purview of the law and the judiciary.

Euro-Med Monitor emphasized the need for international judicial authorities to launch an urgent and comprehensive international investigation to hold the perpetrators accountable, exhume the bodies, identify the victims, return the remains, and provide justice to the families of the victims.

As part of a ceasefire agreement between the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas and the Israeli regime, hundreds of Palestinians were freed in recent weeks. Many appeared frail and exhausted as they arrived at hospitals for checkups.

Several recent reports shed light on the systematic torture, severe beatings and brutal treatment the Palestinians faced moments before their release.

The Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) said the bodies of the abductees reflect "the level of crimes committed against them", particularly after October 7, 2023.

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The organization detailed cases of "unprecedented torture, starvation, systematic medical crimes" and severe beatings that, in some cases, resulted in broken ribs. Several former detainees were also reportedly infected with scabies.

Recently released Palestinians from the Gaza Strip also report experiencing torture. Some of the former Gaza abductees said they were blindfolded, beaten, and bitten by dogs during detention.

At least 14,500 Palestinians are currently languishing in Israeli prisons, including 1,115 children.

Hamas has decried physical and psychological torture and mistreatment of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, saying such abusive practices constitute a "full-fledged war crime."

The resistance movement denounced the mistreatment of Palestinian prisoners and demanded an end to "the terrible violations they are subjected to by the extremist Zionist junta”. 

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