In a disturbing exposé, Palestinian prisoners have come forward to share their horrific experiences of sexual violence and torture in Israeli detention facilities. The accounts, documented by the human rights group B’Tselem, paint a grim picture of a systemic pattern of abuse that has been normalised within the Israeli prison system.
Sami al-Saei, a 47-year-old father of six, was one of the survivors who bravely spoke out. He recounted how he was brutally assaulted by Israeli prison guards, who subjected him to beatings, genital abuse, and forced anal penetration. Al-Saei said he heard the guards laughing during the attack and even tried to prevent documentation of the crime. “I tried to prevent them by clenching my muscles (in my anus), but I could not. They forced it in very deep, it was extremely painful,” he said, adding that he screamed in agony.
The B’Tselem report details a “grave pattern of sexual violence in detention facilities and prisons”, ranging from threats of sexual assault to forced stripping and actual sexual abuse. This includes “beatings to the genitals that caused severe injuries, setting dogs on prisoners, and forced anal penetration with various objects.”
Tamer Qarmut, a 41-year-old disabled man, also shared his harrowing account. He said that after being detained by Israeli soldiers, he was beaten, attacked by a dog, and then raped by a soldier who “shoved a wooden stick up my anus, left it there for about a minute, and pulled it out. Then he shoved it back in, even harder, and I screamed at the top of my lungs.”
The report paints a disturbing picture of Israeli prisons being transformed into a “network of torture camps for Palestinians” after October 2023, where abuse and torture have become an “accepted norm.” The international community, however, has largely turned a blind eye to these atrocities, with B’Tselem’s executive director Yuli Novak stating that “the international community continues to grant this regime full immunity.”
The devastating impact of this abuse is felt by the families of the victims, such as Aziza Mirie, whose son Abdul Rahman was likely beaten to death in an Israeli prison. Mirie said she keeps imagining how her son was tortured, and his young daughter constantly asks, “Why don’t I have a father?”
These horrific accounts highlight the urgent need for the international community to take action and hold Israel accountable for the systematic torture and abuse of Palestinian prisoners. The victims’ courage in speaking out must be met with a resolute commitment to end this grave violation of human rights.
