UN Denounces ’Israel’ For Systematic Torture of Palestinians

By Staff, Agencies

The United Nations Committee Against Torture [CAT] has strongly condemned the "Israeli" occupation for carrying out a deliberate policy of “organized torture” against Palestinians, highlighting systematic abuses and violations of human rights.

In a report published on Friday, CAT stated that the occupying entity enforces a deliberate policy of “organized and widespread torture and ill-treatment” against Palestinian detainees, particularly since October 7, 2023, when "Israel" launched its genocidal war on Gaza.

The committee expressed “deep concern over repeated severe beatings, dog attacks, electrocution, water-boarding, use of prolonged stress positions [and] sexual violence” inflicted on Palestinians.

Palestinian detainees were degraded by “being made to act like animals or being urinated on,” systematically denied medical care, and subjected to excessive restraints, “in some cases resulting in amputation,” the report added.

CAT also condemned the routine application of “unlawful combatants law” to justify the prolonged detention without trial of thousands of Palestinian men, women, and children.

More than 10,000 Palestinians, including women and children, are currently held in "Israeli" prisons, according to Palestinian and international human rights groups, with 3,474 Palestinians in “administrative detention,” meaning they are imprisoned without trial for indefinite periods.

The report highlighted the “high proportion of children who are currently detained without charge or on remand,” noting that while "Israel" sets the age of criminal responsibility at 12, even younger children have been detained.

Children designated as security detainees face severe restrictions on family contact, may be subjected to solitary confinement, and are denied access to education, in clear violation of international law.

The committee further suggested that "Israel’s" policies across the Occupied Territories constitute collective torture against the Palestinian population.

“A range of policies adopted by 'Israel' in the course of its continued unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory amounts to cruel, inhuman or degrading living conditions for the Palestinian population,” the report said.

On Thursday, the Palestinian Resistance movement Hamas condemned the systematic killing and torture of Palestinian detainees in "Israeli" prisons, urging international action to halt these abuses.

Citing human rights data, Hamas stated that 94 Palestinians have been killed in "Israeli" prisons since the start of "Tel Aviv’s" genocidal war on Gaza.

“This reflects an organized criminal approach that has turned these prisons into direct killing grounds to eliminate our people,” the resistance movement said.

Hamas called on the international community, the UN, and human rights organizations to immediately pressure "Israel" to end crimes against detainees and uphold their rights as guaranteed by all international conventions and norms.