RAMALLAH: The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS) has urged the United Nations to open an independent investigation following the publishing of a shocking video that documents the brutal torture of Palestinian detainees by Israeli occupation authorities.

The footage, which was aired yesterday, depicts Palestinian prisoners at Megiddo Prison being attacked by police dogs while their hands are shackled behind their backs, and they are lying face down on the ground.

In a statement released today, PPS emphasized that the video represents only a small part of the systematic torture inflicted on Palestinian detainees across various Israeli prisons and detention camps.

The organization criticized the Israeli occupation’s attempts to break the will of Palestinian prisoners, instill fear among their families, and undermine the collective consciousness of the Palestinian people by broadcasting humiliating and torturous images under the guise of “leaks.”

PPS accused the current Israeli government, particularly the
fascist minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, of deliberately leaking these images as a way to boast about the abuse of detainees.

‘This strategy,’ says the organization, ‘is part of a broader competition among government ministers to outdo each other in inflicting harm on Palestinians. Ben-Gvir has used the plight of Palestinian detainees to garner support within Israeli society and satisfy his desire for revenge following the war [in Gaza].’

The statement further noted that the dissemination of such images aims to impact the collective perception of Palestinian prisoners, who hold a special place in the Palestinian struggle.

‘It also serves as an additional tool for intimidation and spreading fear among Palestinian citizens while reinforcing certain negative stereotypes about the conditions of imprisonment,’ added the statement.

PPS affirmed that the practices being carried out by the occupation against detainees are part of a longstanding, systematic policy that has been in place since the beginning of the Israeli
occupation. However, it noted that since October 7, 2023, these crimes and policies have reached new levels of brutality, with the introduction of new methods to entrench these abuses.

As of early September 2024, there are over 9,900 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli detention camps, not including detainees from Gaza who are held in Israeli military camps.

Source: Palestine News and Information Agency – WAFA