Palestinians released by Israel claim to have been tortured

Around twenty of them were admitted to al-Najjar hospital in Rafah on Sunday, after being released by the Israeli army. “They have bruises and traces of blows on their bodies,” noted the hospital director.

Palestinians released after being arrested by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip claimed on Sunday December 24 that they had been tortured in detention, which the IDF denies. These men are among hundreds of Palestinians arrested by the Israeli army during its ground operations launched in the Gaza Strip from October 27 and questioned for alleged links with Hamas in power in the territory.

Around 20 of them were admitted to al-Najjar hospital in Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip, on Sunday after being released.“They have bruises and marks of blows on their bodies,” hospital director Marwan al-Hams told AFP. One of the released detainees, Nayef Ali, 22, showed signs of restraint on his wrists and cuts on his body, according to AFP images.

The young man had, he explains, been arrested in the Zeitoun neighborhood in the east of Gaza City. “They separated the men from the women and kept us in a house where they [les soldats israéliens] had seized”, he told AFP. “They handcuffed our hands behind our backs for two days. We weren’t allowed to eat or drink, nor were we allowed to use the toilet, just beatings and beatings,” he added.

Detained people “treated in accordance with international law”

Another released detainee Khamis al-Bardini, 55, also claims to have suffered ill-treatment at the hands of Israeli soldiers. “It was cold water on our heads all night and beating during the day. They then took us to a prison, the name of which we do not know or where it is located.”he testifies.

When asked about these accusations, the Israeli army claimed that “detained persons are treated in accordance with international law”. “During their detention, the suspects receive sufficient nutrition and hydration and are treated according to established protocol”she added in a press release.

The Israeli army has been heavily criticized in recent weeks after the release of images of dozens of Palestinians arrested in the Gaza Strip, shown in their underwear, blindfolded and with their hands shackled, under the guard of Israeli soldiers.

On December 19, the Israeli army announced the opening of an investigation into “terrorist deaths in military detention centers”, without specifying the number of detainees concerned or the circumstances of their deaths.