{"id":271285,"date":"2024-08-12T12:00:28","date_gmt":"2024-08-12T11:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=271285"},"modified":"2024-08-10T09:04:28","modified_gmt":"2024-08-10T08:04:28","slug":"torture-abuse-and-humiliation-palestinians-on-israeli-prison-hell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2024\/08\/torture-abuse-and-humiliation-palestinians-on-israeli-prison-hell\/","title":{"rendered":"Torture, Abuse and Humiliation: Palestinians on Israeli Prison \u2018Hell\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Palestinian prisoners &#039;tortured in Israeli prison&#039; speak out: &#039;We couldn&#039;t sleep from the screams&#039;\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/RYeiyA4IJmY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>Ex-prisoners report sexual assault and starvation in \u2018torture camp\u2019 jails presided over by Itamar Ben-Gvir.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong><em><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/article\/2024\/aug\/05\/palestinian-prisoners-describe-widespread-abuse-in-israels-jails\" >Palestinian Prisoners Describe Systemic Abuse in Israel\u2019s Jails<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><em>5 Aug 2024 &#8211;<\/em> Ashraf al-Muhtaseb is a musician who described leaving Israel\u2019s jails with no hearing in his left ear, four fractured ribs and a broken hand, so ill and weak from hunger he could no longer walk.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1hirwfs\">Dropped at an Israeli checkpoint on his own, he says he began crawling towards his home in the occupied West Bank town of Hebron, until a passerby picked him up.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"a2df4169-b1f0-4f7b-a0d9-380609cb52a4\" class=\" dcr-a2pvoh\" data-spacefinder-role=\"supporting\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement\">\n<div id=\"img-1\" class=\"dcr-1t8m8f2\"><picture class=\"dcr-evn1e9\"><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/42a390d2cd432a8adf093b4e72042451f826c389\/0_551_900_540\/master\/900.jpg?width=380&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=none\" media=\"(min-width: 1300px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-width: 1300px) and (min-resolution: 120dpi)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/42a390d2cd432a8adf093b4e72042451f826c389\/0_551_900_540\/master\/900.jpg?width=380&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none\" media=\"(min-width: 1300px)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/42a390d2cd432a8adf093b4e72042451f826c389\/0_551_900_540\/master\/900.jpg?width=300&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=none\" media=\"(min-width: 980px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-width: 980px) and (min-resolution: 120dpi)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/42a390d2cd432a8adf093b4e72042451f826c389\/0_551_900_540\/master\/900.jpg?width=300&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none\" media=\"(min-width: 980px)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/42a390d2cd432a8adf093b4e72042451f826c389\/0_551_900_540\/master\/900.jpg?width=620&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=none\" media=\"(min-width: 660px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-width: 660px) and (min-resolution: 120dpi)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/42a390d2cd432a8adf093b4e72042451f826c389\/0_551_900_540\/master\/900.jpg?width=620&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none\" media=\"(min-width: 660px)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/42a390d2cd432a8adf093b4e72042451f826c389\/0_551_900_540\/master\/900.jpg?width=605&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=none\" media=\"(min-width: 480px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-width: 480px) and (min-resolution: 120dpi)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/42a390d2cd432a8adf093b4e72042451f826c389\/0_551_900_540\/master\/900.jpg?width=605&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none\" media=\"(min-width: 480px)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/42a390d2cd432a8adf093b4e72042451f826c389\/0_551_900_540\/master\/900.jpg?width=445&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=none\" media=\"(min-width: 320px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-width: 320px) and (min-resolution: 120dpi)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/42a390d2cd432a8adf093b4e72042451f826c389\/0_551_900_540\/master\/900.jpg?width=445&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none\" media=\"(min-width: 320px)\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"dcr-evn1e9 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/42a390d2cd432a8adf093b4e72042451f826c389\/0_551_900_540\/master\/900.jpg?width=445&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none\" alt=\"Muhtaseb on a trolley\" width=\"445\" height=\"267\" \/><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<figure id=\"a2df4169-b1f0-4f7b-a0d9-380609cb52a4\" class=\" dcr-a2pvoh\" data-spacefinder-role=\"supporting\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement\"><figcaption class=\"dcr-1pvqcrw\" data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\"><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Muhtaseb was held for six months<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-1hirwfs\">Muhtaseb\u2019s wife fainted when she saw him, and his son asked: \u201cWho are you, and where is my dad?\u201d Picked up on 8 October 2023, he was not charged before his release on 7 April this year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1hirwfs\">In those six months, the 53-year-old said, he passed through three <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/article\/2024\/may\/23\/whistleblowers-allege-widespread-abuses-at-israeli-detention-camp-sde-teiman\"  data-link-name=\"in body link\">Israeli prisons<\/a>, enduring a marathon of torture, abuse and humiliation detailed in an interview, backed up by medical records and photos that show the impact of multiple beatings and of losing 30kg (66lbs) of body weight.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1hirwfs\">He said his hearing was destroyed during an attack in his cell in Ketziot prison in November. \u201cI was beaten and kicked in my back, my chest and my head. I had one side of my head against the wall and was getting blows on the other,\u201d he told the Guardian. \u201cThe next day I couldn\u2019t hear.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"21b1debd-2487-487f-b8cd-d49f8befa902\" class=\" dcr-173mewl\" data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement\">\n<div id=\"img-2\" class=\"dcr-1t8m8f2\"><picture class=\"dcr-evn1e9\"><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/24170a7d4301366f752de7f4f4c10622a5271076\/0_350_6720_3780\/master\/6720.jpg?width=620&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=none\" media=\"(min-width: 660px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-width: 660px) and (min-resolution: 120dpi)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/24170a7d4301366f752de7f4f4c10622a5271076\/0_350_6720_3780\/master\/6720.jpg?width=620&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none\" media=\"(min-width: 660px)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/24170a7d4301366f752de7f4f4c10622a5271076\/0_350_6720_3780\/master\/6720.jpg?width=605&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=none\" media=\"(min-width: 480px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-width: 480px) and (min-resolution: 120dpi)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/24170a7d4301366f752de7f4f4c10622a5271076\/0_350_6720_3780\/master\/6720.jpg?width=605&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none\" media=\"(min-width: 480px)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/24170a7d4301366f752de7f4f4c10622a5271076\/0_350_6720_3780\/master\/6720.jpg?width=445&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=none\" media=\"(min-width: 320px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-width: 320px) and (min-resolution: 120dpi)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/24170a7d4301366f752de7f4f4c10622a5271076\/0_350_6720_3780\/master\/6720.jpg?width=445&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none\" media=\"(min-width: 320px)\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"dcr-evn1e9 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/24170a7d4301366f752de7f4f4c10622a5271076\/0_350_6720_3780\/master\/6720.jpg?width=445&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none\" alt=\"Muhtaseb pointing to his ear\" width=\"445\" height=\"250.3125\" \/><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<figure id=\"21b1debd-2487-487f-b8cd-d49f8befa902\" class=\" dcr-173mewl\" data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement\"><figcaption class=\"dcr-1fujct4\" data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\"><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Muhtaseb says his hearing has been destroyed.<\/span> Photograph: Quique Kierszenbaum\/The Guardian<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-1hirwfs\">The abuse, starvation and humiliation he said endured was part of a pattern described repeatedly in eight other interviews carried out by the Guardian, and dozens more done by the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.btselem.org\/publications\/202408_welcome_to_hell\"  data-link-name=\"in body link\">human rights group B\u2019Tselem<\/a>. They described abuse so widespread and systemic that it must now be considered state policy, said the group\u2019s executive director, Yuli Novak. Israeli jails had become \u201ctorture camps\u201d in which at least 60 Palestinian prisoners have died in detention since 7 October 2023, she added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1hirwfs\">Prisoners said they were subjected to regular severe, arbitrary violence, including sexual assault. None of the prisoners interviewed by the Guardian left detention without experiencing or witnessing some form of attack. Other abuse and humiliation was constant, from starvation rations to denial of access to basic hygiene supplies including sanitary pads for women, soap, towels, clothes and clean water for drinking and showers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1hirwfs\">B\u2019Tselem\u2019s descriptions of systemic abuse echo those raised in private by an unlikely ally: the domestic intelligence service. In June the Shin Bet head, Ronen Bar, warned prison officials of a \u201ccrisis\u201d that threatened national security. In a leaked letter he says Israel is vulnerable in international courts to \u201cwell-founded\u201d claims of committing the war crime of inhumane treatment and violating the convention against torture.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1hirwfs\">The Israel Prison Service (IPS) said it operated according to law and under democratic scrutiny. \u201cWe are not aware of the claims you described and as far as we know, no such events have occurred under IPS responsibility,\u201d it said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1hirwfs\">The Israeli military said it \u201crejects outright allegations concerning systematic abuse of detainees\u201d, and that it acted \u201cin accordance with Israeli law and international law\u201d. Abuse of detainees during detention or interrogation was strictly prohibited and allegations were thoroughly examined, a statement said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1hirwfs\">No group of Palestinians appear to be exempt; women and Palestinian citizens of Israel have been caught up in the dragnet of abuse. Maryam Salhab, a 23-year-old student from Hebron, said she still had back problems from the hours she said she spent face down in mud after her arrest on 26 October, with her hands and legs cuffed, kicked and attacked for hours by Israeli soldiers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1hirwfs\">At one point, she said, two of them stood on her back. \u201cI was suffocated, I couldn\u2019t breathe, I saw death with both eyes,\u201d she said, estimating that the men stayed there, weighed down by all their gear, for two or three minutes. \u201cThey chatted to each other as if nothing was happening, as if they were standing on solid ground.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1hirwfs\">She said she was then moved to a cell smeared with the vomit of a previous inmate who had an infectious disease. Water in the taps had been turned off so the women could not even try to clean it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1hirwfs\">Lama al-Fakhuri, 48, a writer who joined her there, got her period soon after her arrest. Refused a pad, she bled through her clothes. Both women said they were threatened with rape and verbally abused. Neither faced charges or trial before their release five weeks later, several kilos lighter, as part of a deal to free hostages in Gaza.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"livestreaming-for-ben-gvir\" class=\"dcr-12ibh7f\">\u2018Livestreaming for Ben-Gvir\u2019<\/h2>\n<p class=\"dcr-1hirwfs\">The far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has presided, with vocal pride, over the grim transformation of Israel\u2019s prison system. \u201cIn Ketziot [prison] they say that I am crazy and I am proud of that. I am proud that we have changed all of the conditions,\u201d he recently told the Knesset.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1hirwfs\">Ben-Gvir also confirmed in a recent letter to the supreme court that food deprivation was ordered from the top. \u201cThere is no starvation, but my policy does call for reducing conditions, including food and calories.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1hirwfs\">He appears to be so closely linked to abuse that far-right social networks share pictures of emaciated detainees with captions joking about a Ben-Gvir weight-loss plan.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1hirwfs\">Musa \u2018Aasi, a 58-year-old painter-decorator and father of four, said he heard guards beat 38-year-old Tha\u2019er Abu \u2018Asab to death in a neighbouring cell at Ketziot in November. One guard told 50-year-old Firas Hassan, from Bethlehem: \u201cWe are livestreaming this for Ben-Gvir\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1hirwfs\">Ben Gvir\u2019s spokesperson said the minister was \u201cproud\u201d of his prison policy, and that it was in line with international law. \u201cThe conditions of the terrorists imprisoned in Israeli prisons have been tightened to the minimum required by law. In accordance with the minister\u2019s policy, the terrorists do not receive the improved conditions they received in the past,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"a0229922-eeb2-45d6-be34-30f07d33e02f\" class=\" dcr-173mewl\" data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement\">\n<div id=\"img-3\" class=\"dcr-1t8m8f2\"><picture class=\"dcr-evn1e9\"><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/5d1671c7d6eefb844dc3cde4fbaed39eefc9f3d6\/0_341_1196_718\/master\/1196.jpg?width=620&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=none\" media=\"(min-width: 660px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-width: 660px) and (min-resolution: 120dpi)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/5d1671c7d6eefb844dc3cde4fbaed39eefc9f3d6\/0_341_1196_718\/master\/1196.jpg?width=620&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none\" media=\"(min-width: 660px)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/5d1671c7d6eefb844dc3cde4fbaed39eefc9f3d6\/0_341_1196_718\/master\/1196.jpg?width=605&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=none\" media=\"(min-width: 480px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-width: 480px) and (min-resolution: 120dpi)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/5d1671c7d6eefb844dc3cde4fbaed39eefc9f3d6\/0_341_1196_718\/master\/1196.jpg?width=605&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none\" media=\"(min-width: 480px)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/5d1671c7d6eefb844dc3cde4fbaed39eefc9f3d6\/0_341_1196_718\/master\/1196.jpg?width=445&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=none\" media=\"(min-width: 320px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-width: 320px) and (min-resolution: 120dpi)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/5d1671c7d6eefb844dc3cde4fbaed39eefc9f3d6\/0_341_1196_718\/master\/1196.jpg?width=445&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none\" media=\"(min-width: 320px)\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"dcr-evn1e9 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/5d1671c7d6eefb844dc3cde4fbaed39eefc9f3d6\/0_341_1196_718\/master\/1196.jpg?width=445&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none\" alt=\"Musa \u2018Aasi\" width=\"445\" height=\"267.1488294314382\" \/><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<figure id=\"a0229922-eeb2-45d6-be34-30f07d33e02f\" class=\" dcr-173mewl\" data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement\"><figcaption class=\"dcr-1fujct4\" data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\"><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Musa \u2018Aasi, who says he heard fellow inmate being beaten to death<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-1hirwfs\">What guards wanted the security chief to see, they tried to hide from the rest of the world. Ahmed Khalefe, 42, a human rights lawyer from northern Israel detained at an anti-war protest, told a court hearing about violence he witnessed in jail. On his way back to his cell, he was beaten and threatened. \u201cThey told me if I spoke again [about abuse] they would kill me,\u201d said Khalefe, who is still under house arrest.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1hirwfs\">He described pools of blood on the floor and watching jailers jump on the back and legs of an 80-year-old man. \u201cHe just cried,\u201d Khalefe said. \u201cWe ended up taking care of the tortured people, even though they had no medicine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1hirwfs\">For some prisoners, denial of medical care was in effect a death sentence. Atef Awawda, 54, shared a cell with Muhammad al-Sabbar, a 21-year-old with special needs and Hirschsprung\u2019s disease.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"1ac1db3c-d490-4e5a-bf85-7a16e0be6e3a\" class=\" dcr-173mewl\" data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement\">\n<div id=\"img-4\" class=\"dcr-1t8m8f2\"><picture class=\"dcr-evn1e9\"><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/8c259b782cc43415bc9de3060b48cfdffde55733\/0_325_6720_4032\/master\/6720.jpg?width=620&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=none\" media=\"(min-width: 660px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-width: 660px) and (min-resolution: 120dpi)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/8c259b782cc43415bc9de3060b48cfdffde55733\/0_325_6720_4032\/master\/6720.jpg?width=620&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none\" media=\"(min-width: 660px)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/8c259b782cc43415bc9de3060b48cfdffde55733\/0_325_6720_4032\/master\/6720.jpg?width=605&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=none\" media=\"(min-width: 480px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-width: 480px) and (min-resolution: 120dpi)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/8c259b782cc43415bc9de3060b48cfdffde55733\/0_325_6720_4032\/master\/6720.jpg?width=605&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none\" media=\"(min-width: 480px)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/8c259b782cc43415bc9de3060b48cfdffde55733\/0_325_6720_4032\/master\/6720.jpg?width=445&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=none\" media=\"(min-width: 320px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-width: 320px) and (min-resolution: 120dpi)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/8c259b782cc43415bc9de3060b48cfdffde55733\/0_325_6720_4032\/master\/6720.jpg?width=445&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none\" media=\"(min-width: 320px)\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"dcr-evn1e9 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/8c259b782cc43415bc9de3060b48cfdffde55733\/0_325_6720_4032\/master\/6720.jpg?width=445&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none\" alt=\"Atef Awawda \" width=\"445\" height=\"267\" \/><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<figure id=\"1ac1db3c-d490-4e5a-bf85-7a16e0be6e3a\" class=\" dcr-173mewl\" data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement\"><figcaption class=\"dcr-1fujct4\" data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\"><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Atef Awawda watched seriously ill prisoners deteriorate without medical care.<\/span> Photograph: Quique Kierszenbaum\/The Guardian<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-1hirwfs\">Sabbar required a special diet and medication to prevent blockages in his intestine but when the war started, those provisions stopped. His abdomen began swelling dangerously and Awawda said they begged a nurse: \u201cHe is going to die, please help.\u201d \u201cThe nurse replied: \u2018Go bang your head against the wall,\u2019\u201d Awawda said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1hirwfs\">Another medic eventually gave Sabbar an injection and Awawda helped him back towards health by managing their meagre rations, but the two were then separated. Months later Sabbar died from an intestinal blockage. \u201cThis is medical negligence in the true sense of the word,\u201d Awawda said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1hirwfs\">He said he also briefly shared a dirty, overcrowded cell with a paraplegic prisoner, Khalid Shamish, who had developed an infected pressure sore. \u201cI saw maggots coming out of his back,\u201d Awawda told the Guardian. A month later Shamish had died.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1hirwfs\">In Ketziot, jailers hung a sign with \u201cwelcome to hell\u201d written in Arabic and Hebrew outside one wing. Another comparison occurred to Sari Huriye when he was ordered to strip by prison guards as he entered the jail. \u201cThey made me get completely naked and that\u2019s when I realised I was entering Abu Ghraib,\u201d he said, referring to the US jail in Iraq that became a byword <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/uk\/2005\/feb\/23\/military.world\"  data-link-name=\"in body link\">for abuse<\/a> two decades ago.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1hirwfs\">He is an Israeli citizen from Haifa and a property lawyer, and was arrested over Facebook posts about the war, he believes to set an example. \u201cI ticked all the boxes \u2013 middle class, Christian, political,\u201d he said. \u201cEveryone told me they stopped posting on Facebook after that. That was the point.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1hirwfs\">He spent 10 days in prison, enough to hear Abdul Rahman al-Maari die in agony in the neighbouring cell after a beating. \u201cI feel so guilty that I couldn\u2019t help him,\u201d he said, breaking into tears. \u201cMaari didn\u2019t stop screaming the whole time. He kept saying: \u2018I\u2019m dying, I need a doctor.\u2019<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1hirwfs\">\u201cThen he went quiet. In the morning the guards went in and kicked him, said: \u2018Wake up, get up.\u2019 After an hour they brought the medic and they put him in a bag, like trash, and took him away.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>______________________________________________<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>Emma Graham-Harrison and Sufian Taha in Hebron; Bethan McKernan and Quique Kierszenbaum in Haifa<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/article\/2024\/aug\/05\/torture-abuse-and-humiliation-palestinians-on-israeli-prison-hell?CMP=share_btn_url\" >Go to Original &#8211; theguardian.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>5 Aug 2024 &#8211; Ex-prisoners report sexual assault and starvation in \u2018torture camp\u2019 jails presided over by Itamar Ben-Gvir.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":254959,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[87,865,1464,3264,88,2415,2416,85,2418,572,70],"class_list":["post-271285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-palestine-israel-gaza-genocide","tag-gaza","tag-genocide","tag-guantanamo","tag-idf","tag-israel","tag-israeli-army","tag-israeli-occupation","tag-palestine-israel","tag-palestinian-rights","tag-torture","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=271285"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271285\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":271286,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271285\/revisions\/271286"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/254959"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=271285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=271285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=271285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}