UN report finds Palestinian detainees subjected to abuse in Israeli prisons

A United Nations report released Wednesday said Palestinian detainees were subjected to torture and abuse while in Israeli custody.

The United Nations Human Rights Office report investigated Palestinian detentions from October to the end of June and found those detained are sometimes imprisoned without a clear reason and generally held in prolonged secret detention, sometimes for weeks or months. Many are held without trial or even charges.

Israeli prison guards often raid jail cells, take personal items and deny access to hygiene items, while cells are generally overcrowded, food is restricted and detainees are exposed to cold weather.

Palestinian prisoners, including women and children, are also subjected to beatings, threats and humiliation, the U.N. said, and are denied access to legal counsel, prayer and contact with family.

Some specific abuses include electric shocking, cigarette burns, sleep deprivation, forced consumption of hallucinogenic pills and kneeling on gravel. There have also been some reports of sexual assault, the U.N. report found.

U.N. Human Rights High Commissioner Volker Türk said he was concerned about a large number of Palestinians being subjected to punishment and abuse in Israeli prisons.

“The testimonies gathered by my office and other entities indicate a range of appalling acts, such as waterboarding and the release of dogs on detainees, amongst other acts, in flagrant violation of international human rights law and international humanitarian law,” he said in a statement.

Israeli officials have not responded to the report but have generally considered the United Nations to be biased against Israel.

The U.N. report also called out Hamas for subjecting the hostages taken from Israel to similar abuses and horrific conditions, while calling for a cease-fire and hostage release deal between the Palestinian militant group and the Israeli military.

The U.N. Human Rights Office said it talked with Palestinian released detainees, witnesses, Israeli and Palestinian government officials, human rights groups and other U.N. agencies for the report.

Israel has taken thousands of Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank into custody since the war with Hamas began in October, including women and children and more than 300 medical staff detained during raids on hospitals in Gaza, according to the U.N.

Israel has been accused of abusing its prisoners and has faced particular accusations of crimes committed at the Sde Teiman military base, which is also acting as a prison during the war. The Associated Press and Washington Post have documented abuses at the facility.

Earlier this week, the Israeli military detained nine of its own soldiers who were accused of abusing a prisoner. The arrests sparked protests from far-right Israelis and calls for their release, including from high-ranking government officials. Some protesters broke into the military base where the soldiers were held.

The war began on Oct. 7 after Hamas invaded southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking another 250 hostage. About 116 hostages, 44 of whom are believed dead, are still in Gaza, where more than 39,000 Palestinians have died in the conflict.