1/19/2024–|Last updated: 1/19/202411:40 PM (Mecca time)
A United Nations official on Friday accused Israel of mistreating Palestinian detainees in the Gaza Strip and subjecting them to conditions that amount to torture.
The representative of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, Ajit Songai, said that he met men who were detained for weeks, beaten and blindfolded, and some were released naked, wearing only diapers.
Songai added to reporters that the number of men arrested by Israel since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza is not clear, but it is estimated at thousands.
Speaking to reporters in Geneva via video from Gaza, Songai, who met some of the released detainees in the Strip, said these men were detained by Israeli security forces in unknown locations for a period ranging from 30 to 55 days.
He explained that he met men who were released in the besieged sector, and that there were reports of men who were later released, but only in diapers and without any suitable clothing in this cold weather.
In response to a question about why some of the released detainees wear diapers, Songai said, “We are not completely sure why they were released while wearing diapers, but the shock was clear on them when I met them.”
The UN official quoted them as saying, “They were subjected to beatings, humiliation, ill-treatment, and what may amount to torture. They confirmed that they were blindfolded for long periods, some for several days in a row.”
Songai said their testimonies are consistent with reports received by the UN Human Rights Office about the widespread detention of Palestinians, “including many civilians held in secret, often subject to ill-treatment” and without access to their families, lawyers or any judicial protection. Active.
He added, “All cases of ill-treatment or torture to which arrested or detained persons must be fully and transparently investigated.”
The Israeli army said that it was arresting and interrogating suspects involved in armed activities, without revealing numbers, as part of its operations in the combat zones in Gaza.
The Israeli army spokesman’s office said that the detainees were “treated in accordance with international law” and those who were found not to have participated in the fighting were released, as he described it.
He said he often asked them to hand over their clothes “to ensure they were not hiding suicide vests or other weapons, and that detainees got their clothes back when possible.”
Last December, Israeli television broadcast images of Palestinian men stripped except for their underwear in Gaza. After being circulated on social media, the photos sparked condemnations from Palestinian officials and Arab and Islamic countries.