Today, the Supreme Court in Israel – for the first time – began discussing the closure of the desert detention camp in Sde Teman, while the Public Prosecution announced that it would gradually stop using the camp, which is run by the army and holds Palestinian prisoners arrested in the Gaza Strip.
The hearing held by the Israeli Supreme Court came in response to a petition submitted by human rights organizations after reports of brutal torture to which Palestinian prisoners are being held in this prison, after they were arrested in the Gaza Strip during the past months of the aggression.
Gradual stop
In a new development, prosecutors in Israel announced that the use of the aforementioned detention camp will gradually stop.
They told the Supreme Court that the prisoners in the Sde Teman camp, which was opened after the start of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip on October 7, will gradually be transferred to permanent detention facilities.
They added that the transfer had begun, and that most of the prisoners would be distributed to other facilities within two weeks, which would allow for improved detention conditions at the present time.
Prosecutor Aner Hellman said – in response to a petition submitted to the court by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel – that 700 detainees have already been transferred to Ofer military prison in the West Bank, and that 500 more are scheduled to be transferred in the coming weeks, leaving 200 individuals in Sde Teman, whose future the authorities have not yet decided. .
CNN investigation
A CNN investigation revealed violations committed by Israel against Palestinians in the secret detention center located in the Negev desert.
In its investigation, CNN reported violations and torture of Palestinian detainees by Israeli soldiers in a secret detention center in the Negev.
She said that the testimonies of three Israelis who worked there revealed that Palestinian detainees live in extremely harsh conditions in a military base that has now become a detention center in the Negev Desert.
CNN quoted one of them as saying that foul odors fill the detention center where men are crammed blindfolded and prevented from speaking or moving.
He said that doctors in the detention center sometimes amputate prisoners’ limbs due to injuries resulting from constant handcuffing and medical procedures sometimes performed by unqualified doctors, as the air is filled with the smell of neglected wounds left to rot.
CNN spoke with the three who worked at the detention center, called Sde Timane Sahrawi, and they all spoke publicly, exposing themselves to the risk of legal repercussions and reprisals.
According to accounts, the facility, located about 18 millimeters from the Gaza border, is divided into two parts: containers where about 70 Palestinian detainees from Gaza are placed under severe physical restrictions, and a field hospital where wounded detainees are strapped to their beds wearing diapers.
One of the sources, who worked as a field hospital paramedic, said, “They stripped them of their humanity.”
Another source added that Israeli soldiers used beatings against detainees not to collect intelligence information, but rather as punishment for what the Palestinians did on October 7.
Confessions to the occupation and testimonies of victims
The Associated Press had previously quoted an Israeli army statement confirming that 36 residents of the Gaza Strip had died in Israeli detention centers since October 7.
Regarding the situation in the Sde Timan military hospital, Associated Press said that accusations of inhumane treatment are increasing, and Israel is under increasing pressure to close it, at a time when journalists and the International Committee of the Red Cross are prevented from entering it.
According to the testimony of three workers, including an anesthesiologist, most of the patients wear diapers, are not allowed to use the bathroom, and are tied with their hands and feet and blindfolded, inside a white tent in the desert.
The agency said that the testimonies confirm that the prisoners are undergoing surgical operations without sufficient painkillers, and by unknown doctors.
The agency also quoted a soldier working in the hospital as saying that patients were subjected to miserable conditions.
Commenting on this report, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club said that the “Sde Teman” camp is only one station among a number of prisons and camps in which Israel holds dozens of detainees from Gaza, without any details about the conditions of their detention.
The Prisoners’ Club also denounced the occupation authorities’ announcement of their intention to open an investigation into the “Sde Timan” camp, describing them as mere worthless allegations.
He stressed that the Associated Press report comes at a time when the occupation authorities continue to refuse to disclose data related to Gaza detainees and their places of detention, including the identities of those who were martyred in its camps.
The French newspaper Liberation also highlighted reports from human rights organizations raising the alarm about the spread of torture in the aforementioned detention facility.
She pointed out that the leaked testimonies and information confirm that the Sde Teman detention center has become a place for torturing Palestinians in horrific ways while insulting their dignity, in light of human rights demands to close the detention center that Israel established to detain Palestinians for unlimited periods out of sight.
