The Israeli human rights group B’Tselem has published a major new report documenting how the Israeli prison system has become “a network of torture camps,” where physical, psychological and sexual abuse of Palestinian prisoners is normalized and routine. The report, titled “Welcome to Hell,” collects the testimony of 55 Palestinians who were detained by Israeli authorities since October 7 and later released, almost all without charges. This comes as a group of U.N. experts condemned the widespread torture of Palestinians and as Israel’s Channel 12 News aired shocking footage of Israeli soldiers sexually abusing a prisoner at the Sde Teiman army base, where thousands of detainees from Gaza are held. Sarit Michaeli, the international advocacy lead for B’Tselem, says the abuse in Israeli prisons is “systemic, ongoing and state-sanctioned,” reflecting the cruelty and thirst for revenge among a growing number of Israelis. “They would like to have a completely open field in terms of what they can do to Palestinians,” says Michaeli.

The Israeli human rights group B’Tselem has published a major new report documenting how the Israeli prison system has become “a network of torture camps,” where physical, psychological and sexual abuse of Palestinian prisoners is normalized and routine.

The report, titled “Welcome to Hell,” collects the testimony of 55 Palestinians who were detained by Israeli authorities since October 7 and later released, almost all without charges. This comes as a group of U.N. experts condemned the widespread torture of Palestinians and as Israel’s Channel 12 News aired shocking footage of Israeli soldiers sexually abusing a prisoner at the Sde Teiman army base, where thousands of detainees from Gaza are held.

Sarit Michaeli, the international advocacy lead for B’Tselem, says the abuse in Israeli prisons is “systemic, ongoing and state-sanctioned,” reflecting the cruelty and thirst for revenge among a growing number of Israelis. “They would like to have a completely open field in terms of what they can do to Palestinians,” says Michaeli.

You can find the full report of testimonies here

    • @TreczoksEnglish
      30•4 months ago

      Yes, this is the quite likely position of the Israeli government. After all, they are looking for the person who published the video of the crime - not as a witness against the criminals, but because that person exposed them.

      • @[email protected]English
        8•4 months ago

        And that’s another layer of fucked up to calling all critics antisemitic. It can normalise actual antisemitism when it bubbles up.

    • Todd BonzalezEnglish
      -33•4 months ago

      It’s interesting how in an attempt to rebuke claims that being against Israel is antisemitic, we have now escalated to mocking the idea of Antisemitism as a whole every time there’s disturbing news about Israel…

      I am not a fan of this trend. Antisemitism still exists, and nowhere am I finding any indication that anyone is earnestly making the argument that Israel has the right to rape prisoners.

      So what is the point of this comment, other than to preemptively normalize antisemitism as an acceptable response to Israeli human rights abuses?

      EDIT: You’ll downvote this, but you’ll upvote the “guess I’m antisemitic” comment, don’t act like you don’t see the creeping normalization. No fucking different than right-wingers “I guess x is racist, so I’m a racist now” narratives. I know you think you’re joking, but when people tell me who they are, it’s still prescient to believe them.

      • @lady_mariaEnglish
        14•4 months ago

        Mocking the kinds of abhorrent claims of “antisemitism” that Israel makes is not even remotely the same as mocking the idea of actual, real life antisemitism.

      • @[email protected]English
        9•4 months ago

        we have now escalated to mocking the idea of Antisemitism as a whole every time there’s disturbing news about Israel

        That’s not what’s being done and you know it

      • @[email protected]English
        8•4 months ago

        we have now escalated to mocking the idea of Antisemitism as a whole

        That is the reality if the Israeli government keeps pretending that all their human rights violations are in the name of Jews everywhere. You can’t hold on to being the victim if you are the one abusing now.

      • @febraEnglish
        7•4 months ago

        Being against Israel isn’t antisemitic. Zionism is a nationalist movement. Nationalism sucks. You’re welcome.

      • @theparadoxEnglish
        5•4 months ago

        nowhere am I finding any indication that anyone is earnestly making the argument that Israel has the right to rape prisoners.

        It literally happened a little over a week ago.

        https://www.cbsnews.com/news/israel-hamas-war-idf-palestinian-prisoner-alleged-rape-sde-teinman-abuse-protest/

        Paragraphs 5-7. I recall there being a video of the moment but I don’t know if it is included in the linked article.

        A member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, speaking Monday at a meeting of lawmakers, justified the rape and abuse of Palestinian prisoners, shouting angrily at colleagues questioning the alleged behavior that anything was legitimate to do to “terrorists” in custody.

        Lawmaker Hanoch Milwidsky was asked as he defended the alleged abuse whether it was legitimate, “to insert a stick into a person’s rectum?”

        “Yes!” he shouted in reply to his fellow parliamentarian. “If he is a Nukhba [Hamas militant], everything is legitimate to do! Everything!”

        …

        nowhere am I finding any indication that anyone is earnestly making the argument that Israel has the right to rape prisoners.

        An Israeli lawmaker was asked if anal rape with a stick was legitimate and the Israeli lawmaker replied “Yes” and clarified that “Everything is legitimate to do” so long as the recipient is Hamas. Is he in the majority? No, but someone is earnestly making the argument.

        Here’s the thing. The fact that I’m making the effort to demonstrate this utterly fucked up reality is, I guarantee, going to convince someone here that I’m antisemitic. I don’t think it will matter to them that I have family that is Jewish or that I’m 50% Ashkenazi by blood.

        The fact that this is happening, and that any Israeli lawmaker would defend it, literally makes Jews worldwide less safe. It gives real, actual antisemitism more perceived legitimacy.

        Edit: Video Link. Couldn’t find anything outside twitter/insta/tiktok, none of which I ever visit directly. Kind if telling that American news outlets don’t have it posted anywhere I could easily find but whatever. While I’ve had folks attest to the accuracy of the translation, I don’t speak Hebrew so feel free to continue to pretend it isn’t happening.

        https://x.com/ireallyhateyou/status/1817904053462196523