Since October 7, 2023, the Israeli occupation authorities have escalated their violations against Palestinian prisoners, most notably medical negligence, sexual abuse, mistreatment, assault and beating, and solitary confinement.
An Israeli doctor at the field hospital set up at the Sde Teiman detention center to hold arrested Gazans revealed that Gazan prisoners had their legs amputated due to handcuff injuries.
The unnamed doctor described deplorable conditions and violations of medical ethics and the law in a letter sent last week to Israel’s war minister, health minister, and attorney general.
The doctor further reported that two prisoners had their legs amputated just this past week alone as a result of handcuff-related injuries. “Unfortunately, this has become a routine occurrence,” the physician said.
In addition to being made to urinate in diapers, the detainees’ hands are constantly handcuffed, which is against both medical and legal regulations.
The Sde Teman detention centre was established after the outbreak of the Israeli genocide war on the Gaza Strip on 7 October, to hold detainees in preparation for transferring them to a regular prison, following the Knesset’s approval of an amendment to the detainee detention law.
In his letter, the doctor detailed how, ever since the field hospital opened its doors, he has had to deal with challenging moral decisions. He cautioned that the nature of the hospital’s operations does not align with any health-related department’s legal guidelines for the detention of illegal combatants because the facility lacks a regular supply of medical supplies and medications.
The physician also mentioned in his letter that the detainees in the field hospital are handcuffed and blindfolded around the clock.
“Under these conditions, even young and healthy patients lose weight after a week or two of treatment in the hospital, which does not receive a regular supply of medical equipment or medicines,” he added.
He pointed out that “more than half of the patients were injured because their hands were constantly handcuffed during their detention. The handcuffs cause serious injuries that require repeated surgical interventions.”
“Under these conditions, in practice, even young and healthy patients lose weight after a week or two of hospitalisation,” the doctor said.
He also pointed out that half of the Palestinian patients at the hospital were transferred to the facility due to injuries caused by their leg irons during their detention.
During the past six months; hundreds of Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip were subjected to enforced disappearance, proving that they did not participate in the fighting. A large number of them were detained inside the West Bank or the Green Line despite having residency permits prior to the 7 October events. Some of them were arrested in the Gaza Strip during the ongoing war amid total blackout over their whereabouts and detention conditions.
In addition, the Israeli prison services (IPS) declined the medical services received by Palestinian inmates; they were denied access to prison clinics for medical care, their ability to visit hospitals for care was revoked, drug treatment was provided erratically, and prison physicians failed to examine and monitor them.
There are currently 9,100 Palestinians in Israeli prisons and detention centres.
These arbitrary arrests constitute a flagrant violation of the fundamental rights of individuals, including the right to freedom and personal security, and the right not to be subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment. It also violates the right to personal freedom and the right to a fair trial, as detainees are held without legal evidence and valid judicial warrants.
The international community and human rights organisations must apply serious pressure to the Israeli occupation authorities regarding their arrests of Palestinian prisoners and other human rights violations in order to guarantee human rights compliance and terminate these severe measures.
