The ICC must investigate Israel’s genocidal use of sexual violence
There is a growing body of evidence of the systematic nature of sexual assaults against Palestinian detainees. Before the events of October 2023, human rights
There is a growing body of evidence of the systematic nature of sexual assaults against Palestinian detainees. Before the events of October 2023, human rights organisations had for decades documented allegations of sexual violence and abuse against Palestinian detainees held in Israeli custody. Since October 2023, these organisations have reported a marked increase in the frequency and severity of such violations, documenting brutal assaults perpetrated by Israeli prison guards and soldiers. Al Jazeera’s recently released documentary, Bodies of Evidence, offers shocking personal testimonies from Palestinian survivors and more details about the inner workings of the system that has enabled the commission of sexual torture against Palestinian women, men and children. With the accumulation of this evidence, a disturbing picture is emerging of a broader pattern of sexual violence in the Israeli detention system aimed at humiliation, domination, dehumanisation, and destruction. It increasingly appears that Israel has weaponised sexual violence as part of its genocidal campaign against the Palestinian people. Israel has used a vast detention system to control the occupied Palestinian population since 1967. According to estimates, more than 750,000 Palestinians have been held in Israeli prisons since then. Currently, there are at least 9,500 Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons, including more than 360 children. Around 3,500 Palestinians are being held in “administrative detention” – i.e. without charge or trial. In addition, there are more than 1,300 Palestinians from Gaza held in military detention centres. Survivor testimonies show that abuse is not confined to detention centres but occurs at every stage of detention: from arrest during home raids, hospital raids, checkpoint stops, and military operations, to transfer, interrogation, imprisonment, and appearance before military courts. As a result, responsibility is shared between various actors within the Israeli security apparatus: the army, the police, the Israeli Prison Service (IPS), which falls under the Ministry of Security and the intelligence service Shin Bet, which operates under the authority of the prime minister. The Israeli media outlet Haaretz has recently named various Israeli officials as “collaborators” in Palestinian prisoner abuse, including Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, IPS chief commissioner Kobi Yaakobi, IPS legal adviser Eiran Nahon, and IPS chief medical officer, Dr Liav Goldstein. Palestinian detainees have reported being subjected to various abuse: stripping, blindfolding, handcuffing, beating, starvation, sleep deprivation, targeting of genitalia, sexual assault, rape with objects or dogs, humiliation before soldiers and other detainees, denial of medical care, and obstruction of legal scrutiny.
The BriefWire