Israeli Authorities Engaged in “Systemic” Abuse of Palestinian Detainees | Palestine Policy Roundup 08.09.2024

Welcome to the Palestine Policy Roundup, a weekly publication of the IMEU Policy Project.

👀 ICYMI: MEMBERS OF CONGRESS SPEAK OUT

Sen. Bernie Sanders: “The American people do not support Netanyahu’s horrific war. We must remind the Democratic Party: If they want young people to get involved in the political process, they must change their approach to Gaza.”

Rep. Pramila Jayapal: “What’s happening in Gaza is not external to the U.S. It is not a conflict that we are being asked to mediate from the outside. We are the largest backer of military assistance to Israel. We have a responsibility to use our position & leverage to secure a permanent path to peace.”

IN THE NEWS

☑️ KAMALA HARRIS CHOOSES TIM WALZ AS HER RUNNING MATE, BUT THERE IS MORE WORK TO DO

Vice President and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris announced this week that she has chosen Tim Walz, the current governor of Minnesota, as her running mate. While choosing Governor Walz is a step in the right direction, there is more work to do: as the Biden administration’s unconditional support for Israel’s genocide in Gaza continues to tarnish support for the Democratic Party among Arab and Palestinian communities, the Harris-Walz campaign must commit to changing course on Gaza and reflect the will of the American people.

📖 LEARN MORE: Read a statement published by the IMEU Policy Project and several other organizations in response to Harris choosing Gov. Walz as her running mate.

PALESTINE/ISRAEL DEVELOPMENTS

⛓️ REPORT REVEALS SYSTEMIC AND INSTITUTIONAL POLICY OF ABUSE AND TORTURE OF PALESTINIANS HELD IN ISRAELI PRISONS

A new report published by the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem revealed that Israel is carrying out a “systematic, institutional” policy of torture and abuse against Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. The report, which collected testimony from 55 Palestinians who were released from Israeli prisons, describes unimaginable scenes of abuse and reveals how “Israel’s prison system turned into a network of torture camps.” The policy is applied across all Israeli prisons and affects all Palestinian detainees, including those who are from Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, citizens of Israel, and the half of whom are held without charge under administrative detention. Palestinian detainees are subjected to starvation, sexual abuse, severe violence and abuse, denial of adequate medical treatment, and much more as a part of this policy. While Israeli soldiers were recently arrested on charges related to abuse, this report demonstrates the systemic nature of these policies in Israeli prisons and reveals that the incident for which the soldiers were arrested is not isolated.

For months Palestinian detainees released from Israeli custody have reported severe abuse, torture, and sexual assault committed by Israeli forces. Mohammed Abu Salmiya, the director of Al-Shifa hospital who was detained in November, and lawyer Khaled Mhajne have detailed gruesome acts committed in Israeli prisons, and Dr. Adnan Al-Bursh and Dr. Iyad al-Rantisi both died in Israeli custody, allegedly killed by the torture they endured. Ibrahim Salem, who was detained in Sde Teiman for eight months and photographed in pictures leaked earlier this year, also described horrific scenes of torture and abuse at the base. 

The report concludes that Israel’s policy of torture and abuse “may amount to war crimes and even crimes against humanity” and calls for an independent probe by the International Criminal Court into these crimes, pointing out that the entire Israeli judicial apparatus is working to support these torture camps. The participation of Israeli forces in these crimes may also violate laws and policies governing weapons transfers, including the Leahy Law and the National Security Memorandum 20.

🏥 ISRAELI FORCES KILL DOZENS IN NEW STRIKES ON SCHOOLS, HOSPITAL

On Sunday Israeli forces struck the Hassan Salama and al-Nasr schools in Gaza City, killing at least 30 people. The schools were being used as shelters for displaced Palestinians, and the Palestinian Civil Defense in Gaza reported that 80% of those killed and injured in the strike were children. This strike came just a day after Israeli forces killed 15 Palestinians in a strike on the Hamama school in Gaza City, which was also being used as a shelter for displaced Palestinians. Hani Mahmoud, reporting for Al Jazeera, said that more bombs were dropped on the school as volunteers were trying to rescue people from the rubble after the initial strike. He told Al Jazeera: “Those three bombs destroyed the facility completely. This is the tactic that the Israeli military has widely used in the past. The military drops a bomb that partially destroys facilities, namely evacuation centres, killing a number of people, and then within a few minutes, it drops other bombs”. On Saturday, Israeli forces also bombed the courtyard of the Al-Aqsa hospital, where displaced Palestinians are sheltering, setting tents on fire and killing at least four. This is the third time Israel has targeted the hospital. Targeting hospitals is considered a war crime under international law. At least 15 Palestinians were killed in strikes on the Abdel Fattah Hamoud and al-Zahraa schools in Gaza City on Thursday. 

As Israeli forces continue to target schools and hospitals where displaced people are sheltering, Palestinians in north Gaza have been ordered to evacuate as Israel reportedly prepares another assault on Gaza City. Palestinians in Khan Younis have been ordered to evacuate again as Israel prepares another assault on the city’s suburbs, only weeks after it ordered Palestinians to evacuate to a shrinking humanitarian zone in July. 90% of Palestinians in Gaza have been displaced during Israel’s genocide, and are being forced into the 14% of the area that is not under evacuation orders, contributing to major problems of overcrowding and sanitation.

📺 WATCH: Watch a report published by Al Jazeera which shows the aftermath of the strike on the Al-Aqsa hospital courtyard.