The Israeli violations against Palestinian prisoners continue to escalate and become more apparent as the resigned Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, boasted about forcing Palestinian prisoners to kneel at gunpoint inside the “Ketziot” prison in the Negev desert.
This came after many phrases were written by the prisoners on the walls of their cells, like “Jerusalem is Arab”, confirming their adherence to their rights.
Ben-Gvir shared videos of the occupation prison forces forcing the prisoners at gunpoint to paint the walls on which these phrases were written. This act reveals the blatant violation of the Palestinians’ human rights, and the systematic repression practiced against them in prisons.
This incident is one of a long list of violations, including humiliation and psychological abuse, were practiced against Palestinian prisoners.
Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper revealed that the occupation authorities forced some prisoners, who were scheduled to be released as part of the prisoner exchange agreement, to wear shirts bearing phrases derived from Jewish religious texts of an incitement nature.
Human rights reports also documented that prisoners were forced to wear bracelets bearing phrases such as “The eternal people never forget,” indicating that they would continue to be targeted even after their release. The Hebrew newspaper Maariv stated that these measures were made a by decision of the Commissioner of the Prison Service, Kobi Yaakov, in consultation with Israeli security officials.
Meanwhile, the International Committee of the Red Cross expressed its anger at the harsh treatment to which Palestinian prisoners were subjected, especially during their release operations.
According to the Hebrew newspaper Haaretz, the organisation complained about forcing prisoners to raise their handcuffed hands above their heads during their transfer, a position that causes severe pain and insults human dignity.
The newspaper highlighted the way in which Israel deliberately humiliated Palestinian prisoners upon their release, while the authorities in Gaza are keen to treat Israeli prisoners in accordance with the rules of international humanitarian law, even offering them gifts before handing them over to the Red Cross.
These practices are part of a systematic policy of the occupation, aimed at taking revenge on Palestinian prisoners, which is a flagrant violation of international laws, including the Geneva Conventions, which guarantee the treatment of prisoners with dignity and respect. It also reflects the occupation’s ongoing attempts to break the will of prisoners through psychological and physical torture, which has been documented by many human rights reports.
An international investigation needs to be opened into these violations in order to hold the occupation officials accountable for them, and to ensure the protection of Palestinian prisoners from torture and ill-treatment, increases.
