Gaza - New York: Europe and the Arabs
Independent UN experts said that reports alleging the use of torture and sexual violence in the Israeli Sde Teiman prison are completely illegal and disgusting, but they represent only the "tip of the iceberg" of Israeli violations driven by absolute impunity. According to the UN daily news bulletin, a copy of which we received on Tuesday morning.
In a statement issued yesterday, Monday, the experts said that the "widespread and systematic" Israeli violations against Palestinians in detention and arbitrary detention practices over decades, along with the absence of any restrictions by the Israeli state since October 7, 2023, "paint a shocking picture of absolute impunity" and constitute a "preventable crime against humanity."
The experts said that they had received documented reports of widespread violations, torture, sexual assault and rape, "under horrific inhumane conditions," as at least 53 Palestinians apparently died as a result over the past ten months. “Countless testimonies from men and women describe detainees being held in cage-like prisons, blindfolded and in diapers, naked, deprived of adequate healthcare, food, water and sleep, electrocuted, including on their genitals, blackmailed and burned with cigarettes. Victims also reported being played loud music until their ears bled, being attacked by dogs, being water tortured, being suspended from ceilings, and sexual and gender-based violence,” they added.

They stressed that the allegations of gang rape of a Palestinian detainee, “now supported by voices in the Israeli political establishment and society, provide irrefutable evidence of a loss of moral compass.”

‘De facto hostages’
The experts stressed that while torture practices are illegal and constitute international crimes, “they are part of the modus operandi of Israel’s notorious detention and torture system.” They warned that these practices aim to punish Palestinians for resisting the occupation and “seek their individual and collective destruction.”

“Israel’s destruction in Gaza, which is spreading throughout the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, forms the backdrop to its abusive detention programme today,” they added.

The experts noted that most Palestinian detainees have become “de facto hostages of the illegal occupation,” referring to the July 2024 advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the legal consequences of Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories.

The experts denounced the “silence of member states” after testimonies and reports of alleged ill-treatment and torture emerged, and called for pressure on Israel to implement a convincing system to access, monitor and protect Palestinian detainees.
“What is needed now is nothing less than an independent international presence of human rights monitors. They must become the eyes of the world in light of Israel’s blatant failure to prevent and address egregious human rights violations against prisoners and detainees,” they said. Special rapporteurs and independent experts are appointed by the Human Rights Council in Geneva, an intergovernmental body responsible for the promotion and protection of human rights around the world. The rapporteurs and experts are tasked with examining human rights situations and reporting on them to the Human Rights Council. The position is honorary, as the experts are not UN employees and do not receive a salary for their work. Meanwhile, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that shelling and hostilities continue to kill, injure and displace Palestinians, as well as damage and destroy the infrastructure on which they depend. The UN office reported that in the past 48 hours alone, three schools housing displaced people in Gaza City were reportedly hit, resulting in dozens of casualties, according to the Palestinian Civil Defense. Partners on the ground are assessing the needs of those who fled and providing them with assistance. Meanwhile, a new analysis by the UN Satellite Centre found that as of a month ago, 63 per cent of buildings in Gaza had been damaged.
On Sunday, the Israeli military issued a new evacuation order for residents living in areas south of Khan Younis and north of Rafah to immediately move west to Al Mawasi. Humanitarian partners tracking population movements in Gaza estimate that more than 11,000 people living in these areas have been affected by this evacuation order.
Call for respect for international humanitarian law
At the daily press briefing, UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq reiterated his call for all parties to the conflict to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law, including by taking constant care to spare civilians and civilian objects. This includes allowing civilians to leave for safer areas and allowing them to return as soon as conditions permit. Farhan Haq stressed that people must be able to receive humanitarian assistance, whether they move or stay. Mr. Haq warned that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza was worsening as violence continued, noting that humanitarian partners were now reporting a rise in malnutrition levels among children in northern Gaza last month. Partners noted a 300 percent increase in July – when more than 650 cases of severe acute malnutrition were diagnosed – compared to 145 cases detected in May.