Elham Asaad Buaras
Israel’s leading human rights NGO, B’Tselem, has issued a startling report entitled “Welcome to Hell,” revealing that conditions inside Israeli prisons for Palestinian detainees amount to systematic torture and war crimes. Drawing from the harrowing testimonies of 55 recently released Palestinian prisoners, the report underscores a dramatic deterioration in prison conditions since the onset of the Gaza war 10 months ago.
Fouad Hassan, a 45-year-old from Qusrah in Nablus District, recounted his experience: “We were taken to Megiddo. When we got off the bus, a soldier said to us, ‘Welcome to hell.’” This chilling welcome highlights the grim reality described across various reports, which detail shocking allegations of abuse against Palestinian prisoners.
B’Tselem’s research reveals a troubling consistency in the detainees’ accounts. “All of them again and again told us the same thing,” says Yuli Novak, B’Tselem’s executive director. “Ongoing abuse, daily violence, physical violence and mental violence, humiliation, sleep deprivation—people are starved.”
“The abuse consistently described in the testimonies of dozens of individuals held in different facilities was so systematic that there is no room to doubt an organised, declared policy of the Israeli prison authorities,” said the organization. “This policy is implemented under the direction of the Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, whose office oversees the Israel Prison Service (IPS), with the full support of the Israeli government and Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.”
The report highlights the transformation of more than a dozen Israeli prison facilities—both military and civilian—into a network of camps dedicated to the systematic abuse of inmates. “Facilities where every inmate is deliberately subjected to harsh, relentless pain and suffering operate as de facto torture camps,” the report states.
Among the witnesses are 30 residents from the West Bank, including East Jerusalem; 21 from the Gaza Strip; and four Israeli citizens. B’Tselem concludes that the testimonies reflect a systemic, institutional policy of abuse and torture targeting all Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. Documented abuses include severe and arbitrary violence, sexual assault, humiliation, deliberate starvation, forced unhygienic conditions, sleep deprivation, restrictions on religious worship, confiscation of personal belongings, and denial of adequate medical care.
B’Tselem said, “The overall picture indicates abuse and torture carried out under orders, in utter defiance of Israel’s obligations both under domestic law and under international law.”
The organization reported that at least 60 Palestinian prisoners have died in Israeli custody. The report highlights three specific cases:
1. Thaer Abu ‘Asab, a 38-year-old from Qalqiliyah, was found dead in his Negev (Ketziot) prison cell on November 18, 2023, with severe signs of violence.
2. Arafat Hamdan, a 24-year-old diabetic from Beit Sira, died on October 24, 2023, two days after his arrest, reportedly due to denial of necessary insulin treatments.
3. Muhammad a-Sabbar, a 20-year-old from a-Dhahiriyah, died at Ofer Prison on February 8, 2023, due to inadequate nutrition and medical care related to his intestinal disease.
B’Tselem’s testimonies expose harsh conditions in Israel’s detention facilities, including severe overcrowding, lack of sunlight and fresh air, frequent violent roll calls, restricted access to legal support, and the confiscation of personal belongings. Thaer Halahleh, 45, who was held in Ofer and Nafha prisons, described: “For 191 days, I didn’t see the sun.”
The report reveals a disturbing pattern of “unrelenting abuse” against Palestinian prisoners, involving physical, sexual, psychological, and verbal violence. B’Tselem asserts that this violence is not isolated but an institutional policy integral to prisoner treatment, often carried out anonymously and arbitrarily.
Ashraf al-Muhtaseb, a 53-year-old father from Hebron District, described his experience: “I leaned against a wall with broken ribs and injuries to my shoulder, thumb, and finger. I couldn’t move or breathe for half an hour. Everyone around me was screaming in pain, with many people bleeding. It was a nightmare beyond words.” He was held in Etzion, Ofer, and Negev prisons.
Another detainee recounted: “We were stripped naked and forced to spread our legs while sitting half crouching. They hit us on our private parts with a detector, then made us salute an Israeli flag.”
Detainees have described sleep deprivation as a core element of their daily torment. Some prisoners are kept in cells with lights blazing around the clock, while others are subjected to relentless, loud music or jarring noises to deny them rest—methods that sometimes cross into outright torture. M.A., a detainee from the Hebron (Al Khalil) District, recounted being isolated in a tiny cell with constant lighting for over three months, losing all sense of time and nearly losing his sanity. Moreover, chilling accounts reveal that sexual violence by soldiers or prison guards is a disturbing and frequent reality for Palestinian detainees, varying in severity but consistently brutal.
The witnesses painted a harrowing picture of brutality, recounting how naked prisoners were subjected to severe abuse: metal tools and batons were used to inflict genital pain, and humiliating strip-searches were conducted. Testimonies revealed the photographing of naked prisoners, the grabbing of genitals, and instances of gang sexual violence perpetrated by groups of guards or soldiers. The report also highlighted the severe neglect experienced by these prisoners, including denial of medical treatment, food deprivation, starvation, and the denial of basic hygiene and water supply.
B’Tselem testimonies describe the Initial Reaction Force (IRF), known as Keter in Hebrew and operating at Negev (Ketziot) and Ofer prisons, as a “death squad” implicated in severe abuses since October 7. This unit, often masked and clad in black uniforms without ID tags, has been accused of torture, mistreatment, and violence against prisoners. Witnesses report the use of batons, firearms, dogs, and even a stun grenade by IRF members, who, protected by their anonymity and a lack of accountability, have engaged in brutal and unrestrained violence. “Impossible to identify, and safe in the knowledge they would face no consequences for their actions, members of the unit employed brazen, unbridled violence that amounts to abuse and torture,” B’Tselem stated.
In early July, B’Tselem reported that Israeli prisons and detention facilities held 9,623 Palestinians, nearly double the pre-war figure. Of these, 4,781 were subjected to “administrative detention,” a form of detention without trial, formal charges, or access to legal defense.
B’Tselem said that given the severity of the acts, “the extent to which the provisions of international law are being violated, and the fact that these violations are directed at the entire population of Palestinian prisoners daily and over time—the only possible conclusion is that in carrying out these acts, Israel is committing torture that amounts to a war crime and even a crime against humanity.”
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