How Israeli Prisons Have Become a Stage for War Crimes Against Palestinians?

Author: مصطفى إبراهيم

 

The discussion about Israeli violations against Palestinian prisoners and detainees has transitioned from merely individual testimonies or scattered human rights accounts into being documented in official international reports issued by the United Nations itself. The recent report by UN Secretary-General António Guterres did not limit itself to mentioning "isolated cases" of abuse but placed Israeli security forces on the "blacklist" of entities responsible for sexual violence in conflicts and committing war crimes.

This issue is not just symbolic or political; it represents a serious legal and moral condemnation of a state that claims to be the "only democracy in the Middle East," while the facts reveal that torture, humiliation, and sexual assaults have turned into systematic tools against Palestinians, especially after October 7.

The UN report clearly described the types of crimes documented, such as rape, gang rape, sexual assault, forced nudity, threats of rape, and filming some of the assaults. These are not isolated incidents by rogue soldiers but rather recurring patterns that occurred within known detention camps, prisons, and interrogation centers, such as "Sdeh Teiman", "Megiddo", "Ofer", and "Nafta", indicating that the issue is linked to a complete institutional structure that allowed these crimes to happen, possibly encouraging them through silence and protection without accountability.

This system is not limited to security forces alone; it has extended to include explicit complicity from Israeli medical staff within those facilities and camps, who contributed either by remaining silent and covering up the signs of torture or by refusing to provide the necessary humanitarian care, proving full complicity in the crime.

Thus, the most alarming aspect of the report is not just the scale of the crimes, but the explicit reference to a "culture of impunity." When a criminal case against soldiers accused of the brutal assault of a Palestinian detainee is dismissed despite the existence of recordings and medical reports, the message sent to soldiers and security forces is clear: You can do anything to Palestinians without fear of punishment.

Moreover, the documentation of these assaults is no longer merely blind internal record-keeping, but has transformed into a tool for psychological warfare and Palestinian consciousness-shaping through its deliberate leaking to the media, serving the needs of an extremist Israeli street that has begun to see the torture of Palestinians as a source of gratification and entertainment, reflecting a comprehensive societal moral breakdown.

The report directly held the Israeli Prison Service, the Israeli army, and the "Yamam" unit responsible for committing sexual crimes and torture against Palestinians, especially inside detention centers and prisons. The report documented dozens of cases of sexual violence linked to the conflict in 2025, involving men, women, and children from Gaza and the West Bank, confirming that the violations included rape, gang rape, sexual torture, forced nudity, assaults on genitalia, and threats of rape against detainees.

Here, the political and legislative oversight of these crimes is glaringly apparent, publicly led by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, under whose direct supervision the prisons have turned into tools of open torture and revenge, which included reducing food quantities to the point of starvation, preventing visits, severe deprivation of medical treatment, and pushing for legislation aimed at executing prisoners, thus providing the perpetrators with official legal and political cover from the highest echelons of power.

The data in the report reveal that several victims have suffered repeated assaults resulting in injuries and severe bleeding, while some have been denied medical treatment, reflecting the extent of brutality practiced within Israeli detention facilities. The report also warned that the absence of accountability and the dismissal of charges against soldiers involved in the abuse of Palestinian detainees despite the existence of recordings and medical reports deepens the "culture of impunity" and encourages the repetition of these crimes.

Consequently, Israeli prisons have transformed from mere detention places into, as international reports reveal, organized spaces for torture and humiliation and physical and psychological violations against Palestinian prisoners.

Since the beginning of the war on Gaza, the rhetoric of revenge and incitement within Israel has escalated to unprecedented levels. Politicians, journalists, rabbis, and soldiers have openly discussed Palestinians as "human animals" or "enemies that must be crushed." In this climate, violations against the prisoners are no longer mere acts of torture aimed at extracting information but have become part of a doctrine of collective humiliation, collective punishment, and stripping Palestinians of their humanity.

The report also uncovers another highly alarming aspect: the targeting of journalists and human rights defenders, reflecting an attempt by Israel to impose a blackout on what is occurring within the detention centers. Israel has prevented investigative committees and international monitors from accessing detention centers and has threatened detainees to prevent them from giving testimony, confirming that the occupation is aware of the gravity of what is being committed and attempts to prevent its documentation.

Despite the gravity of what is mentioned in the report, the most important question remains: What next? Experience with Israel over the past decades confirms that international condemnations often remain without enforcement mechanisms or real accountability, particularly in light of ongoing U.S. and Western protection. Therefore, the danger lies not only in the continuation of crimes but in the transformation of international silence into an active partner in producing them.

What is happening to Palestinian prisoners and detainees is not a marginal human rights issue; it is part of the comprehensive war on Palestinians, which includes killing, starvation, destruction, displacement, and torture. Sexual assault here is not an isolated incident but a tool of war, humiliation, and psychological and physical destruction, falling within crimes that international law unequivocally prohibits.

Israel's inclusion on the UN blacklist represents a significant political and moral blow to its international image, yet at the same time, it reveals the magnitude of the tragedy experienced by thousands of Palestinian detainees far from the cameras. Unless these reports translate into legal actions and genuine international prosecutions, Israeli prisons will remain open venues for torture and violation, and Palestinians will continue to bear the cost of the absence of international justice. In the absence of true accountability, Israeli prisons become a permanent part of the war machine against Palestinians; deferring justice here means only more victims.