LONDON: Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Sarah Hashash, stressed that all forms of inhuman treatment, including torture and sexual violence, are ‘war crimes’.

In a press statement today, Hashash said that the latest investigation conducted by Amnesty International documented torture and other forms of inhumane treatment of Palestinian detainees in the Israeli Sde Teiman detention camp and other detention facilities.

She stressed that Amnesty International, an international non-governmental organization, has revealed how Israel uses the “Unlawful Combatants Law” as a tool to arbitrarily detain Palestinians indefinitely without charges or trial, in violation of international law.

Hashash noted that the organization has conducted interviews with 27 former detainees from the Gaza Strip, all of whom are civilians, including 20 men, six women, and one child. All of them were subjected to torture and other forms of cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment by th
e occupation forces, intelligence services and police during their detention.

She said the horrifying news about a Palestinian detainee being subjected to gang rape at the Sde Teiman facility provides new evidence of the horrific torture and other forms of abuse carried out against Palestinian detainees, which was documented by Amnesty International in its recent investigations.

Hashash emphasized that the sexual abuse committed against a Palestinian detainee demonstrates the need for Israel to immediately allow independent monitors’ access to detention centers.

She noted that the organization had previously met with Palestinian detainees in Sde Teiman and other detention facilities.

She added: “Amnesty International calls on the International Criminal Court’s Office of the Prosecutor to urgently investigate all allegations of torture, including sexual violence, against Palestinian detainees.”

Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa further stressed that the
Israeli judiciary has a horrific record of failing to reliably investigate torture allegations against Palestinians.

Source: Palestine News and Information Agency – WAFA