Middle East Monitor / July 27, 2024
Court records and autopsy reports reveal rampant and deadly violence against Palestinians by Israeli prison authorities, The Washington Post reported on Monday.
Witnesses recounted the details of the prisoners’ deaths, which were confirmed by doctors from Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI) who watched the autopsies, Anadolu Agency reports.
According to the PHRI, three men are among at least 13 Palestinians from the West Bank and Israel who have died in Israeli jails since 7 October, 2023 when the Gaza conflict began.
An unspecified number of prisoners from the Gaza Strip have also died.
Rights groups say conditions in Israel’s overcrowded prisons have significantly worsened since the military onslaught that has killed more than 39,000 Palestinians.
Former Palestinian prisoners described routine beatings, often inflicted on entire cells or sections with batons and, sometimes, with dogs.
They also reported being denied adequate food and medical care and subjected to both psychological and physical abuse.
“Violence is pervasive,” said Jessica Montell, Executive Director of the Israeli human rights organisation, Hamoked, told The Washington Post.
“It’s very overcrowded. Every prisoner that we’ve met with has lost 30 pounds,” Montell said.
