Abuse of Palestinian detainees a ‘systemic issue’, say Israeli doctors

If there is one thing that can be said with certainty about Israel’s treatment of Palestinian detainees since October 7, 2023, it is that authorities are thwarting attempts by outside actors to check on deaths and reports of severe mistreatment at the prisons.

The detainee mortality toll has spiralled to at least a hundred in the IDF and Israel Prison Service (IPS) facilities, according to Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI), which, along with other rights groups, is raising the alarm about alleged abuse and suspected severe and fatal infringements of health rights. The Israel Prisons Service denies the allegations.

Neither the IPS nor the IDF responded to The Jewish Independent when asked to provide their own figures for the number of detainees who had died in custody or to specify causes of death.

“There is an extremely concerning increase in the number of detainees who died in detention,” says Dr Daniel Solomon, a member of the board of directors of PHRI.

Solomon said PHRI attributes this to “assault or disease that might have been preventable”. Solomon, an oncologist who has observed autopsies on behalf of detainees’ families, spoke with The Jewish Independent in advance of a July 21 webinar where he will be speaking to be hosted by Jewish Women 4 Peace Action Ready.

In a written statement, the IPS denied allegations of mistreatment or abuse in its facilities as being “false, without any factual basis and part of a broader campaign to defame the state of Israel and its institutions”. It added that detainees are held in accordance with the law.

However, in a video posted in February, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said explicitly that he wanted to see the execution of detainees pictured near him who were writhing on the floor face down with their hands tied behind their backs. Another video shows forces storming into a bloc, detonating sound bombs and pointing their weapons into detainees' cells for no apparent reason.