Testimonies from prisoners and lawyers gives glimpse into horrific reality for thousands of Palestinians held hostage by Israel
A new series of testimonies from Palestinian prisoners held, without trial, in so-called ‘detention’ camps and from lawyers who entered the camps, has given the merest glimpse of Israel’s horrific treatment of the almost ten thousand Palestinian civilians held hostage – a stark contrast with the humane treatment reported by Israelis released from Gaza.
The details have been released by the Palestian Prisoners and E-Prisoners Affairs Commission and the Palestinian Prisoners Society, and published by the Humanti Project with a call for readers to email their MPs so that even if the MPs refuse to act, the chain of written evidence is available for future trials for complicity in war crimes. Where possible, the extracted text of each image is included in the captions for visually-impaired readers using text-to-speech software:
“The first days of my detention were horrifying. I was subjected to brutal torture, including a full day of beating, followed by being doused with sewage and urinated on by the soldiers. Then we were transferred to another camp for 27 days, where we were kept kneeling, blindfolded, with hands and feet shackled. We live in constant suffering and torment.” 21-year-old M.H.
The lawyer who visited this prisoner noted that M. H. was wearing a torn summer garment and was shivering from the cold, while suffering
from scabies covering his body.
‘I killed your husband and l want to bury you alive. Let the dogs eat you.’ About half an hour later, they took us out of the pit and put us on a truck.
There were men inside who were right up against me. At that point, I thought my husband had been killed. After I was released, I saw a photo they took of us in the truck. I’m in that photo.” Hadil a-Dahduh Zaza, 24, held in Damun.
“I was detained from a school and subjected to physical abuse, nakedness, and field interrogation. I was later transferred to various camps before reaching Naqab. Today, most of the prisoners are suffering from extreme fatigue and weight loss. Many faint due to the severe conditions. The hunger, diseases, and cold are unbearable.” 25-year-old M.A.
“Death is more merciful than what we are living in prison. Even today, despite the arrival of winter, the prisoners are still wearing their summer clothes. We suffer from extreme cold, hunger, and diseases without exception, particularly due to the spread of scabies. I have also contracted other diseases due to the harsh prison conditions.” Another detainee, A.N
“The Israeli prison administration deliberatelv removes the mattresses every morning and returns them in the evening, despite the harsh cold. Sometimes, they intentionally punish us by delaving the return of the mattresses until midnight.” Other detainees confirmed this account.
and asked about my friends and neighbours and whether I had undergone military training. All they gave us to eat was a slice of bread, a cucumber, and a small piece of cheese. Now and then we got some tunafish and a bit of water to drink.”
blindfolded, forced to sit and sometimes stand throughout the night beneath floodlights. Wounded Palestinians were strapped down onto beds, forced to wear nappies, and fed through straws. Soldiers beat detainees motivated by revenge for the October 7 attacks. Prisoners’ limbs were amputated due to untreated wounds from restraints, and such operations took glace without anaesthesia. In June, the New York Times published an
investigation into the conditions at Sde Teiman, which contained testimony from former prisoners that their Israeli jailers had tortured them with anal rape by a metal rod, among other abuses.
Keir Starmer and his government have yet to mention Israel’s torture, rape and murder of Palestinian hostages, let alone to condemn those actions or its genocide and crimes against humanity in Gaza or to say that they will arrest Israeli leaders if they come into UK jurisdiction. Instead they are actively participating in Israel’s crimes and persecuting UK journalists who expose them.
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David Lammy is in Israel now, meeting the genociders. He won’t criticise them, but he takes funding from their defenders.
He is the most pathetic Foreign Secretary that I can remember.