‘Slow death’: Palestinian testimonies reveal horrific abuses in Israeli prisons

New “shocking” testimonies from Palestinian detainees have revealed the “systematic torture and abuse” against Gazans held in Israel’s Naqab prison, amid the regime’s ongoing genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.

Following a visit to the prison, the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS) and the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs shared new accounts, that they said, “represent clear evidence of the increasing danger posed to more Gaza detainees.”

According to the testimonies, the prison authorities use scabies, a skin disease which is spread among the detainees, as a tool of torture against them.

One of the detainees, identified by his initials MR, recalled his horrific experience of being subjected to “all forms of torture and abuse” since his detention in Sheikh Zayed city in March 2024, saying “I saw death a thousand times.”

He recounted being subjected to physical abuse and forced into signing a made-up confession.

“Today, the situation in Naqab prison is very difficult and tragic, because of the continued spread of scabies, and most of the prisoners suffer from sores and boils, and cannot sleep because of severe itching.”

A similar testimony was shared by MH, another prisoner who was detained at the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza.

Referring to the humiliating treatment he and other detainees were subjected to, MH said the Israeli forces threw sewage water and urinated on them.

He added that he was kept shackled, blindfolded, and kneeling in a camp for a month, before being transferred to the Naqab prison.

“Today, we are dying slow death at every moment,” he said of his experience in Naqab prison.

Hot water torture was also mentioned by detainee HR, who was later transferred to the Naqab prison.

15 months of horror in Gaza as world watches in silence: UNRWA

The horrors of the Israeli regime’s genocidal war in Gaza have continued unabated for 15 months, and the world has watched in silence, the director general of the UN agency for Palestine has stated.

Meanwhile, the detainee AN said, “Death is more merciful than what we are living in prison. Even today, despite the arrival of winter, the prisoners are still wearing their summer clothes.”

 “We suffer from extreme cold, hunger, and diseases without exception, particularly due to the spread of scabies. I have also contracted other diseases due to the harsh prison conditions,” he added.

In another testimony, the detainee JS said, “Today, I can hardly stand or walk easily” because of scabies and the physical abuse he was subjected to during his detention.

“I now bleed because of what I have been subjected to.”

Referring to the case of his cellmate Ashraf Abu Warda who died late last month, JS said Abu Warda’s condition was very dire and that he had lost the ability to speak, remember, and even stand on his feet before his death.

In another form of torture, detainee SA said, “The Israeli prison administration deliberately removes the mattresses every morning and returns them in the evening, despite the harsh cold. Sometimes, they intentionally punish us by delaying the return of the mattresses until midnight.” Other detainees confirmed the report.

The PPS and the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs reported that these testimonies are merely one part of a larger set of accounts from other detainees, which reflect the level of systematic torture and abuse faced by Palestinian detainees, especially those from Gaza, at the hands of Israeli prison guards.

The report comes as at least 54 Palestinians, whose identities are known, have died in Israeli custody since the start of the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023.

Two Palestinian prisoners die in Israeli jails due to ‘slow death’ policy: Rights groups

Two Palestinian prisoners from the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip have died in Israeli custody, a pair of Palestinian prisoners

Israel launched a genocidal war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas waged the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying entity in response to the Israeli regime's decades-long campaign of bloodletting and devastation against Palestinians.

The regime’s bloody onslaught on Gaza has so far killed at least 45,581 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured more than 108,438 others. Thousands more are also missing and presumed dead under rubble.

Last August, the Israeli rights group B’Tselem said Israeli authorities were systematically abusing Palestinians in prison camps set up after the October 7 operation, subjecting them to severe violence and sexual assault.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk