Call on international organizations, legal associations, and bar associations to take action and intervene to halt war crimes and crimes against humanity committed against Palestinian detainees and prisoners by the Israeli occupation authorities
In the context of the comprehensive aggression and the policy of reprisal against the Palestinian people, Israeli launched an unprecedented armed aggression against civilians in the Gaza Strip. The crimes and effects of this aggression are becoming increasingly apparent, observed daily by the global humanitarian and civilized world. The Israeli occupier has spared no criminal actions under international humanitarian law, committing them on the levels of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and even the crime of genocide. This has resulted in the loss of over 13,000 Palestinian civilians, including approximately 5,500 children. Still, 2,500 children remain missing, along with more than 3,500 women. Additionally, more than thirty thousand have been injured, and thousands are missing under the rubble, all due to the scorched-earth policy, widespread destruction of cities and residential areas, and attacks on all aspects of life, including infrastructure, communication networks, electricity, as well as preventing the entry of medical resources and food aid. This is in addition to the targeting of medical transportation and protected properties such as places of worship, universities, schools, and hospitals, with more than two-thirds of them taken out of service and transformed into military bases for the Israeli occupying army.
In a related context to the occupier’s crimes, Israeli occupation forces have escalated their continuous violations against Palestinian detainees in the occupation’s prisons. This is evident through the suspension and disregard of the rights and guarantees granted to them under international law and the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949. As systematic arrest campaigns targeting all segments of Palestinian society intensified, the goal was to terrorize Palestinians and impact their peaceful and struggle voices, expressing their rejection of the war crimes committed against their people. This is also a response to their refusal and confrontation of the campaigns of terrorism, repression, and torture inflicted upon their cities in the West Bank, which have become enclaves, ghettos and barracks exposing the ugly reality of the occupation state and its systematic policy of apartheid.
In light of the ongoing monitoring by institutions concerned with prisoners and detainees[1], and in response to the current situation imposed by the aggression, including the accompanying arrest campaigns and measures targeting prisoners in Israeli occupation prisons, (3200) cases of arrest have been documented in the West Bank, including Jerusalem, from October 7th to mid-November. Among those arrested are more than (100) women, and the number of child cases recorded from the beginning of October until the end of the month is (145).
While accurate data on detainees from Gaza is not available, as the Israeli occupation refused to provide the International Committee of the Red Cross with clear information on the numbers, identities, places of detention, and health conditions of detainees from Gaza, the most notable shift in prisoner data is the significant escalation in the crime of administrative detention. During the mentioned period, the Israeli occupation issued (1464) administrative detention orders. According to the data, the number of prisoners in occupation prisons reached more than (7000) by mid-November, including about (80) female prisoners. The number of detained children exceeded 250, and the number of administrative detainees (detainees without charges) reached (2200). The occupation also categorized (105) detainees from Gaza as (unlawful combatants).
Palestinian prisoners and detainees’ institutions have documented dozens of preliminary testimonies of detainees who were released after a short period of detention. Similarly, families of detainees targeted during arrest campaigns after October 7th have provided evidence of the scale of the systematic policies of tormenting Palestinians, violating their dignity and humanity, and infringing upon their right to life. They have been subjected to torture and various forms of assaults, violations, and systematic crimes, reaching the point of direct threats to shoot them, brutal beatings, field interrogations, threats of rape, the use of police dogs, and the use of civilians as human shields. These atrocities also include forced nudity, as well as the deliberate withholding of medical treatment for sick detainees, leaving them without any healthcare.
As part of these crimes, Palestinian institutions have observed the deliberate actions of Israeli soldiers recording videos of citizens being arrested. These videos capture the humiliation, degradation, and physical assault on individuals after they are stripped of their clothes. Occupation authorities have also used families and women as hostages to pressure family members to surrender to the occupier. Multiple cases of arrest and detention of women and children have been documented.
The institutions concerned with detainees and prisoners have documented a significant escalation in systematic retaliatory measures against prisoners, especially after the International Committee of the Red Cross ceased its work in visiting Israeli detention facilities and prevented Palestinian families from visiting their imprisoned relatives. The administration of Israeli occupation prisons has initiated collective retaliatory measures against detainees, including extensive raids on prisoner sections and cells. Detainees have been placed in collective and intensified isolation, with all prisoner rooms converted into cells after being stripped of their belongings. The administration of Israeli occupation prisons has confiscated all simple electronics used by detainees to meet their basic needs. Additionally, widespread assaults on detainees have been carried out, involving brutal beatings using sticks and clubs, resulting in injuries to dozens of detainees who were then deliberately left without medical treatment.
These measures have also affected the essential elements of life (food, water, medication, and electricity). Electricity has been cut off from prisoner sections, and the quantity and availability of water have been reduced, particularly impacting sick prisoners. The policies of deprivation of necessary medical treatment have been intensified, including the suspension of prisoner transfers to prison clinics and hospitals. Additionally, a hunger process has been implemented following the closure of the canteen, the confiscation of remaining food supplies (such as canned goods), and the reduction of meals to two per day. Collective transfers of prisoners have been carried out, and many have been isolated individually after being subjected to brutal beatings.
Perhaps the most dangerous practices and violations have been manifested in the deliberate assassination operations targeting detainees with premeditation. Six detainees were martyred after October 7th, within less than a month, as a result of torture in the occupation’s prisons. Dozens of detainees have also been injured with fractures and bruises all over their bodies due to brutal beatings, left without medical treatment. In addition, occupation authorities have killed dozens of released prisoners, some of whom were forcibly deported to Gaza in recent years, in extrajudicial executions as part of genocidal operations.
The Knesset issued a law allowing the prison administration not to adhere to the prescribed living space for each prisoner in order to generalize the systematic practices and violations against detainees. This is based on the conditions of the cells and their spaces, allowing for the detention of prisoners without a bed in cases where providing a bed is not feasible. This has resulted in significant overcrowding in the cells, with prisoners sleeping on the floor. Similarly, another military order, numbered (2148), extended the duration of issuing detention orders from 72 hours to 6 days. It also extended the period of postponement for the release of administrative detainees from 72 hours to 6 days. The judicial review of administrative detention orders was also extended from 8 days to 12 days. This arbitrary detention of Palestinian prisoners for extended periods without trial or charges provides the regional commander with a longer period to issue detention orders for a greater number of prisoners. These prolonged durations provide an opportunity for the prison administration to further oppress the prisoners and hinder their access to the minimum of their rights.
On October 8, 2023, an order for the imprisonment of ‘unlawful combatants’ (interim order) was issued by the Israeli authorities, specifying the detention location for prisoners from Gaza in the ‘Yemen Field’ camp near Beersheba, considering them ‘unlawful combatants’ based on the Israeli Unlawful Combatants Law issued in 2002. On October 13, 2023, an amendment to the Unlawful Combatants Law was issued under the title “Final Dates for Dealing with Unlawful Combatants During War or Military Operations for the Year 2023.” This amendment replaces the detention order issuance period from 7 days to 21 days, extends the judicial review period from 14 days to 30 days, allows lawyer visits within 21 days before the judicial review instead of 7 days, and prohibits meeting with a lawyer by the detainee for 28 days from the date of arrest instead of 10 days.
Israel continues to violate the guarantees of a fair trial and the right of prisoners to obtain legal consultation through new amendments to the Detention Law of 1996. This law applies to Palestinians in the occupied territories since 1948, including residents of the Gaza Strip. The amendments grant the investigating authority the right to postpone the lawyer’s meeting for up to 15 days. The head of the investigation unit can further extend the prohibition by an additional 15 days, not exceeding a total of 30 days. The Chief Justice or Deputy Chief Justice of the Central Court can extend the prohibition for up to 20 days in one instance, with a total prohibition period not exceeding 90 days. This means that detainees can be prevented from meeting their lawyers for a total of 90 days. Additionally, there are restrictions imposed on lawyers, compromising their safety and limiting their work in military courts. The procedures for prison visits have also been tightened to prevent lawyers from meeting with prisoners and documenting the abuses they endure.
Israel continues to issue arbitrary amendments that violate the rights and fundamental freedoms of Palestinian citizens regarding the ‘Intensification of Dealing with Incitement Violations and Support for Hostile Organizations (Interim Instructions).’ The amendment increased the penalty for ‘incitement’ and supporting ‘hostile organizations’ mentioned in the order to a minimum of two years imprisonment. While the occupying state’s adoption of a policy of condemnation on charges of incitement is not new, the tightening of penalties during a ‘state of war’ aims to intimidate Palestinians and suppress any expressions of support for the Palestinian factions mentioned in the order.
In light of the grave practices and violations against Palestinian detainees, the undersigned institutions believe that these practices, violations, and the suffering of the Palestinian people from the occupier’s crimes would not have occurred without some Western countries political and military support for Israel. In addition to the silence and complicity of the international community, including the Security Council and the parties to the Fourth Geneva Conventions, regarding their legal responsibilities in holding the occupier accountable and intervening to compel respect for the rights of civilian populations, including detainees, this has emboldened the occupier to persist in these violations, disregarding international norms and conventions.
We emphasize that international human rights law and international humanitarian law embody noble principles and values to enhance guarantees and human rights in armed conflicts and wars of liberation, ensuring the respect for human dignity and human rights, yet the dilemma is not in these laws that we respect, seek to reinforce, believe in, and apply. The dilemma lies in the politicization of the international community and the double standards it applies, where it remains silent and ignores its responsibility to enforce these laws for the benefit of the Palestinian people while rushing to impose respect for and utilize all available mechanisms in other conflicts that do not reach the level of atrocities faced by the Palestinians.
The undersigned institutions in this appeal, in the face of the escalating pace of crimes and violations by the occupier against Palestinian detainees and prisoners, warn of the consequences of international silence and avoiding effective and serious intervention to confront them. We call for:
1- The Human Rights Council shall form an international investigation committee into Israeli crimes against detainees, including arbitrary arrests, torture, and denial of their rights to humane treatment. The findings shall be referred to the UN Security Council and relevant international bodies to ensure that Israel is held accountable for these crimes and violations.
2- Calling on the International Committee of the Red Cross, as the guardian of international humanitarian law, to issue a clear and public stance on war crimes committed against Palestinian detainees and to pressure the Israeli authorities to respect the committee’s role and adhere to international conventions regarding prisoners.
3- Urging the International Committee of the Red Cross to convene an emergency conference with the states parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 to discuss ways to ensure that these states implement and respect the provisions of the Convention regarding the guarantees and rights of Palestinian detainees. They shall also be held accountable for any violations or hindrance to its implementation by the Israeli occupation authorities.
4- Human rights organizations and bar associations worldwide shall bear legal responsibilities to confront Israeli violations and systematic practices against Palestinian detainees, including torture, degrading treatment, and denial of their guarantees for a fair trial. This shall be achieved by activating accountability, prosecution, and trial of the perpetrators of these crimes before their respective national courts.
5- Urging the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, along with the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, to address the violations and crimes committed against Palestinian detainees and those arbitrarily detained. They shall use all available mechanisms and powers to halt the deliberate killing and torture inflicted upon the detainees.
6- Calling upon the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions to take action regarding extrajudicial execution cases or arbitrary summary procedures related to field executions committed by the occupation forces. These acts are considered a violation of the right to life and deliberate killing.
The undersigned associations:
- The Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs
- Palestinian bar association
- Palestinian Prisoner’s Society
- Center for Defense of Liberties &Civil Rights “Hurryyat”
- Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Associations
- Al-Haq organization
- Defense for Children DCI
- The high Committee of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs
- The Popular Campaign for the Release of Marwan Al-Barghouti.
[1] The Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, Palestinian Prisoner’s Society, Addameer, Wadi Hilweh Information Center – Jerusalem, and Palestinian Bar Association