Human Security Centre Human Rights and International Security Research
20 September, 2024
by Sam Biden, Junior Fellow
For decades, the Israeli Prison Service (IPS) has been alleged to have been operating with impunity with regards to Palestinians, processing innocent people through its system, allowing physical assaults against women and children, the murder of dissidents and mistreatment of prisoners of war. Following the 7 October attacks by Hamas and the Israeli offensive against Gaza, new allegations have come to light, with further restrictions, heightened security and the significantly debilitating conditions only appearing to magnify the severity of the situation.
Prison Network Before 7 October
While many view 7 October as the primary inflection point between Israel and Hamas, citing an increase in Palestinian casualties, the apparent targeting of civilian infrastructure as well as the restriction of humanitarian support, the atrocities allegedly happening in the IPS for decades prior details the pervasive targeting of Palestinians behind closed doors. A 1992 report by Human Rights Watch highlighted interviews by 41 former detainees of the IPS, citing verbal abuse, threats of murder, physical assault and sleep deprivation, similar tactics reportedly used this year. Many of the 41 detainees were charged with extremely minor offences, such as stone throwing and protesting, including demonstrating with Palestinian flags. Similarly, in 2004, over 7,000 political prisoners taken from occupied Palestinian territories brought similar issues to light. Many testified they suffered regular beatings from Israeli police, forcing some to initiate a hunger strike in retaliation to the abuse. Denial of food and water, verbal assaults, denial of the right to contact family and sexual assault were all commonplace, mostly taking place in Facility 1391, one of many secret holding sites.
Treatment of Palestinian Children
‘Defenceless’, a 2020 report by Save the Children, highlights many of the issues children face in the IPS. Most of the children they interviewed reported that they were either arrested at home or at a military checkpoint, with girls being more frequently taken at checkpoints, often surrounding Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory, allowing for the quick detention and transfer of anyone taken into custody. For those who were taken from their homes, amounting to 53% of total arrests, many were taken during night raids, with the Israeli government citing security reasons as justification. These raids caused major distress for many of the children, often leaving them disorientated, further worsened by the physical abuse during these arrests. Approximately 24% of children detained reported physical abuse during their arrest or initial detention, with the abuse in question being mostly common assault, such as punching and kicking. Alongside this, 99% of children reported having their hands tied behind their back and an additional 89% reporting being either hooded or blindfolded during the process, meaning they could not attempt to defend themselves.
After the initial detainment, children were transported into IDF custody or to an IPS facility. Reports indicate that regardless of the outcome, transfers lasted a minimum of hours without any guidance or information on why they were being detained, including no legal rights being read or charges explained. Prior to the interrogation, the children were informed they were not allowed to contact their parents or caregivers nor was there an official process where the parents were informed of where their children had been taken. Shortly after, the children were forced to sign legal documents, many of which were in Hebrew, rescinding their legal rights. Only a select few children were informed of their rights prior, many of whom not understanding they were entitled to legal representation and the right to stay silent.
This lack of information was reportedly followed by coercive and aggressive interrogation tactics, forcing children to ‘confess’ or provide information pertaining to threats to Israel, particularly their involvement in warring faction Hamas. 52% of children reported that harm to their families was threatened for not cooperating with a further 89% reporting verbal abuse from IPS staff during interrogation. While under interrogation, children were allegedly subjected to a wide array of techniques that may amount to torture, including the use of blindfolds and handcuffs, slapping/kicking, painful stress positions for extended periods, solitary confinement and sleep deprivation. Eventually, most children confessed to things they had not done due to this coercion. In total, 752 statements from detained children were taken without a single lawyer present, resulting in 744 of the children being unlawfully imprisoned.
For the unfortunate many who were imprisoned, the conditions they were forced to stay in, alongside the verbal, physical and emotional abuse they endured, can only be characterised as haunting. During testimony, 81% of children reported physical assaults, 88% were denied key healthcare, 46% were denied food and water while a further 85% reported being forcefully awoken by guards and alarms during the night. Not every child was lucky enough to be given an overcrowded cell to share, with up to half of the children interviewed claiming they were either held in solitary confinement or total isolation during their time inside. Collectively, over 600 complaints were filed to the Israeli Security Agency (ISA) between 2001-2008, with not a single criminal investigation ever opened to clarify the allegations.
Escalated Abuse After 7 October
Following the attacks on 7 October, Israel drastically heightened their restrictions on movement and freedom in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. Palestinians were put under strict movement and time curfews, with many innocent Palestinians being detained for alleged involvement in Hamas or for even being critical of Israel. As a result, the number of Palestinian detainees increased by nearly 85% from 5,192 to 9,623, with many citing horrific conditions.
1. Living Conditions
Like the accounts given before 7 October, many have complained of horrific living conditions that amount to inhumanity. The minister in control of Israeli prisons declared a “state of emergency” within the network, causing the protective status of minimum living spaces (such as two person cells) to be ignored. As a result, many of the detainees were staying in small cells with large groups, with 6-man cells being occupied by as many as 14 detainees at a time, often for months at a time while awaiting trial. This scale of overcrowding caused many other issues to persist, especially a lack of air and sunlight, with detainees reporting that they were forced to stay in the cells without access to fresh air either outside or via their cell alongside others being denied exit from the building for up to 6 months.
A lack of privacy accompanied the cramped cells, with roll calls and cell searches being commonplace. Roll calls were incorporated sporadically to ensure no one was attempting to escape, with the cell searches being frequently paired with extreme violence at the hands of the prison officers. Upwards of 3 roll calls were made every day alongside these searches, detainees were forced to kneel outside the cell walls with their hands bound, often receiving punches and kicks from prison officers. The searches themselves were thorough yet impractical. Windows, beds and flooring were searched for banned items, yet all detainees were stripped of all personal belongings before they were given a cell, making the intent of the searches to be that of degrading humiliation rather than policy enforcement.
2. Physical and Psychological abuse
Pepper spray, stun grenades, sticks, wooden clubs, metal batons, gun butts/barrels, brass knuckles and tasers are just a few items belonging to a long list of instruments used to inflict torture upon the detainees, often with little or no justification for such violence. As a result, many of the detainees suffered serious injuries, including broken bones, bruises, open wounds and even deaths in some cases. One former detainee states he was taken alone into a room with 20 Israeli guards where he was beaten until he lost consciousness. Upon waking up, he was beaten again and forced to pose with an Israeli flag, later being transferred to another room and being beaten unconscious again, a common claim by many former detainees.
Not all physical and psychological abuse came from violence, much of it came from food and medical deprivation. Food restriction did not come from the officials within the prison network but government policy, with the Minister of National Security for Israel implementing requirements for IPS staff to restrict food to Palestinian prisoners, even bragging about the policy in public appearances as a “deterrent”. Prior to 7 October, many prisoners had more liberty with their food choice and consumption, with many being allowed to purchase food from the canteen and cook in their cells, this was on top of food provided by IPS staff. Medical aid allegedly became a bargaining tool within the prisons, with medicine being promised in exchange for information surrounding upcoming protests, with many detainees not having any involvement at all. While medics did routinely check on most cells when people complained of some pain or illness, actual treatment was reportedly denied, with many being told to drink water or take paracetamol. This blatant disregard for the safety and wellbeing of the detainees resulted in life-altering and life-long injuries, with one detainee testifying he was forced into an amputation because of the physical assaults given to him: had he been granted medical treatment for his injuries, he could have avoided the amputation.
3. Access to Legal Representation
A special amendment to Israeli legislation surrounding combat arrests (detainment of someone who reasonably poses a threat to security) pushed the detainment window before being given administrative charges to 8 days, allowing people to be detained without charge for over a week. Alongside this, many detainees were denied protective status, most notably “prisoner of war” status guaranteed by the Third Geneva Convention, removing all legal protections designed to ensure their safety, including humane treatment and adequate conditions during detainment.
Access to lawyers and legal counsel was heavily restricted, with many witnesses claiming to not have seen a lawyer once during their incarceration. This cutoff from support extended to their family, with prison leave, visitation and conjugal rights all being revoked.
Conclusion
The IPS has allegedly long been responsible for severe human rights violations, with decades of reports revealing an intricate system that not only disregards international legal standards, but actively perpetuates violence, psychological abuse and inhumane living conditions against thousands of people. The events following 7 October have only intensified these abuses, with overcrowding, poor living conditions, the denial of basic needs and the use of torture becoming even more commonplace.
Image: Ofer Prison (Source: Magister (image cropped) via GNU Free Documentation License/CC BY-SA 4.0)
