Torture and other Forms of Cruel, Inhumane and Degrading Treatment against the Palestinian Population in Gaza Strip by the IOF

Summary: Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights has issued a new documentation report Torture and other Forms of Cruel, Inhumane and Degrading Treatment against the Palestinian Population in Gaza Strip by the IOF.

Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights has issued a new documentation report Torture and other Forms of Cruel, Inhumane and Degrading Treatment against the Palestinian Population in Gaza Strip by the IOF. The report is part of Al Mezan’s activities under the project entitled'Combating and Preventing Torture and Ill-Treatment of Palestinian Prisoners held in Israeli Prisons and Palestinian Civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT)', implemented by Al Mezan Center for Human Rights in partnership with Adalah and Physicians for Human Rights – Israel, with support from the European Commission.

The report covers a 2-year period of violations of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment (CIDT) carried out by Israel against Palestinians, primarily in and against those from the Gaza Strip. It documents Israel's policies and actions which promote the systematic use of torture and CIDT, in violation of international human rights law and international humanitarian law.

Al Mezan's documentation over this period shows that Israel continues to arrest Palestinians, including children, patients, fishermen, and rubble collectors and other civilians close to the border fence, subjects them to interrogation under torture, and detains them in inhumane conditions.

The policies used to maintain the blockade also result in cases of CIDT against Palestinians.  Patients seeking life-saving treatment outside Gaza have been denied entry to Israel via Erez and some families have remained displaced and homeless because the ban on building materials entering Gaza means they cannot rebuild their demolished homes. The IOF continues to demolish homes in areas close to the border fence.

The report also documents incidents and policies which cause severe pain and suffering to victims. These incidents include the denial of humanitarian access and the ill-treatment of civilians, including farmers, herders, rubble collectors and those protesting the buffer zone and forced displacement, near the border fence (in the buffer zone) who have been detained and/or shot at for nothing more than being present in this area. 

Main findings documented by Al Mezan over the 2 year period covered by this report:

• ·         Since 2009, at least 15 Palestinian Gaza residents have been detained as unlawful combatants, six of whom are still in detention.
• ·         85 documented cases of Palestinian detainees who were subjected to torture in Israeli prisons.
• ·         Around 50 Palestinian prisoners are being held in solitary confinement in Israeli prisons for various reasons, mostly for punitive or security reasons.
• ·         Gazans are banned from family visits, while 1,500 out of 80,000 cases in the West Bank were denied entry for family visits to prisons inside Israel.
• ·         There were 75 attacks against fishermen.

o   As a result of these attacks, 2 fishermen were killed and 8 were injured.

• ·         At least 65 fishermen were arrested, four of whom were minors, most subjected to ill treatment and/or torture.
• ·         The Israeli Security Authority (ISA) rejected 856 applications for permits from patients seeking to cross Erez for medical treatment. 1,902 other requests for permits were delayed. 553 patients were asked to appear at Erez for an interview and interrogation by the ISA.
• ·         Six patients died while waiting for their permits to be issued, including three children and one woman.
• ·         There were 12 cases of patients or their escorting relatives being arrested at Erez crossing.
• ·         There were 252 shooting incidents in the buffer zone.

o   26 people, including 6 children and 2 women, were killed as a result

o   142 people sustained injuries, including 39 children and 2 women.

• ·         There were 38 military attacks against areas near the borders, in which 17 homes sustained either total or partial damage, causing the forced displacement of 158 residents.
• ·         38 rubble and scrap collectors, 4 of whom were children, were arrested by the IOF during limited IOF incursions into the Gaza Strip and most were subjected to ill treatment and/or torture.

In addition to these violations of the absolute prohibition on torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, the Israeli-imposed blockade has increased food insecurity, poverty and unemployment, decreased the quality of healthcare and left families homeless, all of which has caused untold suffering for the entire population. The essence of the policy of blockade is cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment of the population at large, a prima facie violation of the terms of the CAT. The Committee Against Torture has recognized the effects of the blockade in this regard in its recent concluding observations on Israel's adherence to its obligations under the CAT. This suggests that the blockade on Gaza and the collective punishment resulting from it fall within the scope of the CAT.

In the report, Al Mezan calls international community to act and exert pressure on Israel to abolish torture and CIDT, end the siege of Gaza, and comply with legal obligations to investigate and punish violations of international law, especially torture and CIDT, committed by its security authorities. It also called on the UN General Assembly to take steps to advance justice and accountability in OPT; especially by referring the report of the UN fact-finding mission on the Gaza conflict to the Security Council, as Israel remains unwilling to act on its own obligation. Moreover, the report calls on the European Union to use its leverage on Israel to push for abolishing torture and CIDT.

To download and read the full report click here  

For further information or media enquires please contact:

Mahmoud Abu Rahma (English), Communications & International Relations Coordinator

Office: +970 8 2820 442/7

Mobile: +970 599 609 310 

Email: [email protected]

Samir Zaqout (Arabic), Field Work Unit Coordinator

Office: +970 8 2820 442/7

Mobile: +970 599 461681

Email: [email protected]