UNRWA condemns Israel’s ‘forced displacement’ order for 250,000 people in Khan Younis
‘Nothing but utter torture’: Testimonies of Palestinian detainees
Faraj al-Samouni, among the 55 Palestinians to be released on Monday from months-long Israeli detention, has described what detainees inside Israeli prisons endure.
“I wish none of the detainees had to go through interrogation,” he said, struggling to describe his experience.
“It is nothing but utter torture; total torment. May God help those detainees being interrogated by Israel’s internal security service. Tortured, battered and our genitals beaten. Verbally and physically abused; only God knows. For God Sake, set them free and release them from that hell.”
Al-Samouni said conditions inside the prison cells are “unimaginable”.
“Diseases broke out among the detainees. About 30 are kept in one cell. Our bodies are plagued with abscesses, mange, gangrene. We were given only one cup of rice per day, a piece of tomato and a piece of cucumber, with a small loaf of bread.”
Israel says it abides by international law in its treatment of detainees but other recently released Palestinians gave similar accounts to that of al-Samouni.
“Even those who have been detained for more than 10 years have been deprived of their rights and many were killed under interrogation,” al-Shifa Hospital Director Muhammad Abu Salmiya said at a news conference after his release.
“Many of the medical staff arrested have been denied food, water and medicine. The Israelis have no red lines. They deal with detainees like they’re objects, not human beings. Even the Israeli medics are involved in the beatings.”