UN rapporteur accuses Israel of 'systematic torture' in detention centers

UN rapporteur details 'systematic' abuse

UN Special Rapporteur on Palestine Francesca Albanese on Saturday accused Israel of using torture against Palestinian detainees in Israeli detention centers and the wider population across occupied territories. Her statement followed a New York Times investigation by Nicholas Kristof that documented allegations of systematic torture and sexual violence against Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody. Albanese submitted her report titled “Torture and Genocide” to the 61st session of the UN Human Rights Council, examining human rights violations in the occupied territories since 1967 with a specific focus on Israel’s treatment of Palestinians since October 7, 2023.

The report states that torture has long served as a central component of Israel’s dispossession of Palestinians, noting that since October 2023, Israeli authorities have employed torture on a scale suggesting collective revenge and destructive intent. The rise in abuse inside detention facilities reflects a coordinated policy rather than isolated incidents, according to the findings. Albanese’s documentation also references orders by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to keep Palestinian prisoners labeled as terrorists handcuffed in dark cells while exposing them continuously to the Israeli national anthem.

Torture beyond prison walls

Albanese argued that torture extends beyond interrogation rooms and detention centers to encompass broader methods of collective punishment. Palestinians are subjected to torture through mass displacement, siege conditions, restrictions on humanitarian aid and food supplies, military violence, and attacks by Israeli occupiers, the report said. Israeli authorities have created an environment intended to break Palestinian resistance, dignity, and determination across the occupied territories, it added.

The documentation further contends that systematic torture of an entire population can serve both as a means of domination and as evidence of genocidal intent under the Genocide Convention. This legal analysis comes amid mounting international scrutiny of Israel’s conduct in the occupied territories following the escalation of hostilities that began on October 7, 2023.

New York Times probe sparks legal threats

The New York Times investigation, published on May 11, included detailed allegations that Israeli soldiers, occupiers, and prison guards subjected Palestinian detainees to rape, sexual abuse of children, physical torture, degrading treatment, and other forms of mistreatment. The newspaper’s findings corroborate patterns of abuse documented in Albanese’s official submission to the UN Human Rights Council.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday announced that Tel Aviv would sue The New York Times over the allegations contained in its report. The legal threat comes as international human rights organizations continue to document conditions inside Israeli detention facilities where thousands of Palestinians have been held since the beginning of the current war.