A new United Nations (UN) report has accused Israel of capturing and torturing Palestinians. The report claims that the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) is guilty of detaining suspected militants in Gaza and transferring them to Israel, where they undergo waterboarding and other forms of torture. The UN also alleges that several of these prisoners have died in Israeli custody.
The report is based on interviews with released prisoners and other witnesses. It states that many of the detainees were seized at checkpoints as they attempted to flee the Jewish state in the wake of the October 7 terror attack last year.
United Nations High Commissioner Volker Turk said Israel had committed a “flagrant violation of international human rights law” by using common torture methods and exposing the prisoners to vicious dogs. He called for the immediate release of all detainees. Israel is believed to be holding over 9,000 prisoners in various locations nationwide. Experts say the report would likely be used in a potential International Criminal Court (ICC) trial of Israeli leaders, should such a scenario ever arise.
The ICC’s chief prosecutor filed for the arrest of several senior Israeli and Palestinian leaders in May, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but the court has not yet granted the required warrants.
The Israeli government responded to the UN report, saying it would investigate the claims. It confirmed that such acts are illegal under Israeli law and that IDF troops frequently receive instructions on how to treat detainees.
Prisoners interviewed for the report maintained that they had been blindfolded and denied food, water, and sleep, as well as access to legal counsel. Some alleged that Israeli security services tortured them with lit cigarettes and subjected them to electric shocks. The UN argues that withholding access to a lawyer amounts to enforced disappearance and says all prisoners should have access to outside support, including attorneys and human rights groups.
The UN has called on Israel to “end all forms of arbitrary detention,” but Israel insists the globalist organization is prejudiced against the Jewish state and does not hold other countries – often with much worse human rights records – to the same standards.
