DayofPal- Recent testimonies from Palestinian detainees hailing from Gaza, currently incarcerated at Israeli Negev Desert Prison, have unveiled the nightmarish conditions of torture and mistreatment prevalent within the Israeli occupation’s prison system.
Lawyers from the Palestinian Commission for Prisoners’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club have interviewed eight detainees who were apprehended at the onset of the Israeli ground invasion of Gaza and took their testimonies inside Israeli prisons.
The majority of the detainees were held at the so-called “safe passage” in Natzarim area as they were fleeing from northern Gaza to the south. Others were detained from schools-turned shelters and Al-Shifa Hospital.
The accounts provided by these detainees detail harrowing experiences of torture, mistreatment, and violent assaults endured during the critical initial phase of their detention, prior to their transfer to Negev Prison.
According to data from Gaza detainees held at Negev Prison, there are approximately 1,200 detainees distributed across eight sections, each housing 150 detainees.
It is reported that thousands of detainees from Gaza have been under enforced disappearance. In recent months, following some legal amendments, human rights organizations have been able to conduct some visits to Gaza detainees; however, many of them remain subjected to enforced disappearance, in addition to the thousands who are missing.
Humiliation Around the Clock
Three detainees reported that two of them were arrested from schools housing displaced people, and another was detained alongside dozens from Al-Shifa hospital.
They all said that the Israeli soldiers deliberately stripped them of their clothes after arresting and subjecting them to severe beatings before transferring them to a camp in the Gaza envelope.
37-year-old Gazan detainee (S.D.), who has been incarcerated since November 2023, shares the harrowing details of his experience in Negev Prison, saying, “I was apprehended in November while attempting to cross the alleged ‘safe passage’ Natzarim border as I fled from the north to the south.”
“Following my arrest, I endured severe beatings on sensitive areas of my body,” he revealed.
He further recounted, “They intentionally yanked my body hair in a manner that was both painful and degrading, all while I was handcuffed and blindfolded. Subsequently, I was transferred to a camp in the Gaza envelope, alongside numerous other detainees.”
The detainee continued, “We were prone to torture and humiliation around the clock; one of the guards tied me up from behind for eight days then severely hit my back to bleeding.”
He noted that in the initial phase, the detainees were forced to relieve themselves in their clothes amid extreme thirst and hunger.
During this course of time, all the detainees suffered fractures and serious injuries, with no medical treatment provided; their food was limited to only three pieces of bread.
No Bathing
The detainees are persistently facing extreme harsh conditions of confinement in tent sections, where all of the detainees suffer from various ailments and fractures, particularly skin diseases that have proliferated due to unsanitary conditions and a complete lack of hygiene.
Detainee (S.D.) recounted, “I endured eight months in the same clothing, and we were deprived of bathing for 18 days. The primary objective of the beatings during the initial phase were to execute us and inflict permanent disabilities on the detainees.”
He stated that the majority of the detainees are afflicted with boils and abscesses covering their bodies, leading to severe infections.
The situation has deteriorated further due to the sponge mattresses they are provided; they are uncovered, exacerbating itching and inflammation.
He noted that a single bathroom is being shared by 150 detainees and the blankets are never washed. During periods of extreme heat, snakes and insects have become rampant.
Since February, the food containers have not been changed, which have become a primary source of disease transmission, according to the detainee.
In April, the detainees experienced a genuine famine as they were denied food. A new bathroom was provided for the 150 detainees, with severely limited hours allowed for use, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Another testimony from a 35-year-old detainee (F.Y.), imprisoned since November 2023 at Negev Prison, has extensively displayed the situation in the aftermath of the outbreak of scabies among the detainees.
He confirmed that the majority of detainees are suffering from the proliferation of boils on their bodies and severe infections due to intense itching that they experience constantly, all without any form of medical treatment.
Conditions of detention, he added, remain extremely harsh and difficult, with a complete lack of hygiene, in which the bathrooms the detainees are using are infested with worms.
“Since our arrest, we have not received nail clippers, forcing us to file our nails against the walls. The lack of cleanliness has turned the section into a contaminated space,” the detainee concluded.
Shortlink for this post: https://daysofpalestine.ps/?p=57398
