UN report: Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons are subjected to torture and sexual abuse

The United Nations Human Rights Office said in a report on Wednesday that Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank have been subjected to torture, ill-treatment and sexual abuse since October 7, and that at least 53 have died while in custody in Israeli prisons.

The 23-page UN report, which is based on interviews with released detainees, witnesses to violations, information from UN agencies, civil society organizations, Palestinian and Israeli government entities, and the media, raised concerns about torture and ill-treatment of Palestinians, including “severe beatings, electric shocks, forced stress positions for long periods,

or simulated drowning.”
“These acts are horrific and violate human rights law,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk.

“Testimonies collected by my office and other entities point to a range of horrific acts, such as waterboarding and unleashing dogs on detainees, among others, in flagrant violation of international law,” he said in a statement on Wednesday.

The UN report also said that Palestinians “were subjected to sexual abuse” in Israeli detention centers.

“Israeli security forces committed acts of sexual violence against detained men and women from Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, such as forced nudity of men and women; beatings while naked, including on the genitals; electric shocks to the genitals and anus; forced repeated humiliating searches; widespread sexual insults and threats of rape; and inappropriate touching of women by both male and female soldiers,” the report said.

The Commissioner-General of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, said the new report “is consistent with what UNRWA heard from Palestinians released from Israeli detention centers earlier this year.”