Israel Jails Institutionalized Torture For Palestinians

CrossFireArabia
Features
February 3, 2025

The poor health of Palestinian detainees and prisoners released by Israel as part of the ceasefire agreements in the Gaza Strip reflects the terrible conditions they endured while in custody, including torture, mistreatment, and degrading abuses that persisted until the very last minute.

The Israeli authorities released the detainees and prisoners in four batches, the last of which was last Saturday. The majority appeared to be in a serious state of decline, with each of them losing several kilogrammes of weight due to what appears to be intentional starvation.

Following their release, many of the inmates and detainees required immediate hospital transfers for critical medical examinations. One in particular seemed incapable of recognising his future after being denied treatment while in custody.

These circumstances demonstrate how Israel has transformed its jails into institutionalised torture facilities for Palestinian detainees and prisoners, including those who were convicted and imprisoned prior to October 7, 2023.

Until the final moments before their release, most of the detainees endured psychological torture in addition to mistreatment and beatings.

The Euro-Med field team recorded that, in addition to forcing the detainees to wear prison clothes and subjecting them to beatings and violence before and during their loading onto buses, Israeli forces also made many of them shave their heads – a deliberate and degrading measure meant to degrade their morale.

https://twitter.com/EuroMedHR/status/1885774865212293613

All prisoners and detainees were released under appalling conditions by the Israeli occupation forces, who also stormed their homes and locations designated to receive and celebrate their release. They attacked family gatherings, suppressing them with tear gas and bullets and injuring some people.

According to the testimonies of the released prisoners and detainees that Euro-Med recorded and analysed, the prison administrations’ violations extended beyond subpar detention conditions and turned into a systematic policy of retaliation against all Palestinian prisoners and detainees. Detainees were subjected to severe torture, intentional starvation, and prolonged solitary confinement as part of punitive measures that ramped up brutally after the events in the Gaza Strip in an attempt to punish them for nothing more than the fact that they were Palestinians. Since October 7, 2023, the conditions inside the prisons have seen an unprecedented deterioration.

According to the testimonies documented by Euro-Med, the Israeli occupation forces also tortured and beat the freed detainees, held them in buses with their hands bound for extended periods of time before releasing them, and subjected them to taunts and profanities that were intended to diminish their human dignity right up until the very end.

The day before their scheduled release, Israeli forces seized them and forced them to shave their hair, according to former prisoner “Haitham Jaber” from the town of Haris in the Salfit district. When he refused to shave his hair, the prison administration took him by force and shaved his hair all the way. “Jaber” went on to say: “The inmates endure extremely harsh living conditions, and the most extreme forms of torture, abuse, and degrading treatment were performed against us until the very end.”

The detainees were humiliated by being made to stand in a single queue and occasionally asked to walk on all fours, he said, demonstrating how the prison guards treated them like ‘animals’. Additionally, they were denied basic rights like access to water, as each room was only given one bottle of water per day, and the restrooms were completely devoid of water, making it impossible for them to relieve themselves.

Former prisoner Wael al-Natsheh, who has been behind bars since 2000 and has been sentenced to life in prison, said: “They played with our nerves.” Without providing us with any information or an explanation, they took us back to the prison for three hours after we had left for the buses. This led to anxiety and misunderstanding. We assumed that after giving us the impression that there would be significant issues in the exchange that would be challenging to resolve, he would assign us to the prison sections. He was merely playing with our nerves, as it turned out.

“The inmates who were scheduled to be released were gathered in Ofer Prison and were previously told that their release date was last Saturday,” he said. But they were imprisoned for roughly a week. According to him, the prison administration has been waging a “fierce attack” on the inmates over the past 16 months, causing them to starve, be beaten, be abused, sleep in the cold, and have their clothing and blankets taken away.

According to one of the kids the Euro-Med met and who was set free in the northern West Bank (Euro-Med does not reveal his identity for his own safety), everyone suffered in the prisons, particularly from malnourishment and beatings. He clarified that in order to avoid being arrested again, he was made to sign a pledge not to speak.

According to the testimonies of those who were released, the Euro-Med emphasised that these practices constitute a blatant violation of human rights and the rights of prisoners and detainees guaranteed by international law because they mirror the “abuse, humiliation, starvation, and systematic torture” that they endured both during their detention and after being released.

Additionally, he cautioned that the attacks are not just physical abuse but also have terrible psychological effects on the detainees and prisoners, which worsens their suffering and eventually causes their psychological condition to deteriorate. He continued by saying that the conditions the detainees were subjected to upon their release, the descriptions they gave of their conditions of confinement, and the reference to prisons as “graves for the living” are all blatant examples of an Israeli policy that violates international humanitarian law and human rights standards in order to destroy the Palestinian people’s will and subject them to the greatest amount of suffering and humiliation possible.

To end Israel’s systematic and pervasive crimes of murder, torture, and other grave violations against Palestinian prisoners and detainees, all *countires* and relevant international organisations must act swiftly and forcefully. Additionally, detainees who were arbitrarily arrested must be released immediately and unconditionally. The involved local and international organisations should be given immediate permission to visit the detainees and give them legal representation. Furthermore, Israel should face pressure to end all types of arbitrary detention, including administrative detention, which is a blatant violation of fundamental human rights and a manifestation of a repressive policy meant to undermine the Palestinian people’s will and social cohesion while denying them their legal rights.

In addition to taking all required legal actions to prosecute and try the occupation leaders accountable for these crimes, all nations and interested parties must launch an immediate, independent investigation into these crimes and grave violations.

All concerned countries must also assist the International Criminal Court in its efforts to look into these crimes, submit specialised reports to the court about the crimes committed against Palestinian detainees and prisoners in Israeli prisons and detention facilities, particularly after October 7, 2023, and issue arrest warrants for all of the perpetrators so that they can be prosecuted and brought before the International Criminal Court to stand trial for their crimes.

The crimes committed by the Israeli occupation army and other Israeli security forces against Palestinian prisoners and detainees from the Gaza Strip are considered crimes against humanity and full-fledged war crimes. They also constitute acts of genocide against the Palestinian people in the Strip because they are carried out in a systematic and brutal manner with the intention of eradicating the Palestinian people as a group, including through rape, torture, and other forms of sexual violence.

The international community must put pressure on Israel to immediately cease the crime of enforced disappearance against Palestinian detainees and prisoners from the Gaza Strip, to make public all secret detention facilities, to reveal the identities of all Palestinians it is detaining from the Strip, their whereabouts and fates, and to take full responsibility for their safety and well-being.

Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor

CrossFireArabia

Dr. Marwan Asmar holds a PhD from Leeds University and is a freelance writer specializing on the Middle East. He has worked as a journalist since the early 1990s in Jordan and the Gulf countries, and been widely published, including at Albawaba, Gulf News, Al Ghad, World Press Review and others.

Features

Bahrain Revives Its Pearling Legacy

CrossFireArabia
March 4, 2025

Bahrain, with its shallow waters and rich oyster beds, has long been synonymous with pearls, which formed the backbone of the island nation’s economy for thousands of years. Diving for pearls, otherwise known as pearling, remains part of the country’s cultural DNA.

“I always say that all Bahrainis have pearl diving in their blood,” Mohamed Alslaise, a pearl diver and field researcher for the Bahrain Institute for Pearls and Gemstones (DANAT) tells UN News. “Almost all the families that moved from the Arabian Gulf or Iranian coast to Bahrain were divers.”

Mr. Alslaise is passionate about preserving and reviving this age-old tradition, notes that many families in the Gulf nation have a member who was either a pearl diver or contributed in some way to the pearl diving industry.

Pearling in the Persian Gulf shaped Bahrain’s economy for thousands of years but, following a peak around the turn of the 20th century, the perfection of cultured pearls by Japan in the 1930s caused a sharp and devastating decline in the industry.

Khaled Salman, a diver since the 1970s, explains that while diving continues, it’s no longer done in the old way.

UN Video/Hisae Kawamori

Bahraini diver, Mohamed Alslaise extracting pearls from oysters.

“Nowadays, larger quantities are extracted due to advancements in technology, allowing divers to stay underwater for longer periods. In the past, a diver would stay underwater for four minutes, but now scuba divers can remain underwater for an hour or more.”

Due to lower pearl prices, Salman notes, “Many people don’t sell the pearls they extract; they store them until prices rise and then sell them to traders in Bahrain.”

Some pearls are used in local industries, while others are marketed outside Bahrain. He also highlights three types of pearls: synthetic, cultured, and natural, adding that “distinguishing between these types requires experience and modern equipment.”

The decline in pearling also affected Bahrain’s shipbuilding industry. Abdulla, a designer of wooden ships and boats for over 35 years, shares his perspective: “Bahrain is famous for its shipbuilding industry, which was integral to pearling. There are several types of ships, varying by design, but now smaller ships are used for pearling due to decreased demand.”

The wood for shipbuilding is imported from Africa and Singapore, and, says Abdulla, the lifespan of a ship can extends beyond 100 years.

UN Video/Hisae Kawamori

Abdulla, a designer of wooden ships and boats for over 35 years.

Folklore, songs and tradition

“Most Bahraini traditions are connected to the pearl diving industry. For instance, the pearl diving songs,” says Mr. Alslaise. “The folklore of pearl diving has been passed down for generations. We still sing the same songs, which were originally sung to boost morale on the boats.”

Bahrain’s historic pearling site, known as the Pearling Path, has been inscribed as a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The site testifies to the pearling tradition and the wealth it generated in the Gulf region for millennia.

According to UNESCO, the area consists of 17 buildings in Murharraq city, three offshore oyster beds, part of the seashore and the Qal’at Bu Mahir fortress on the southern tip of Muharraq Island, from where boats used to set off for the oyster beds.

There are shops, storehouses, a mosque, and the homes of wealthy merchants in the area. According to UNESCO, the location is the only complete example of the pearling cultural tradition and the wealth it produced during the period when the Gulf economy was dominated by trade from the second century until Japan developed cultured pearls.

It also constitutes an outstanding example of traditional utilization of the sea’s resources and human interaction with the environment, which shaped both the economy and cultural identity of the island’s society.

UN News/ Abdelmonem Makki

A band performing a pearl diving song in Bahrain. The folklore of pearl diving has been passed down for generations.

Pearling is back

“I am one of the people who fell in love with pearl diving without any guidance from my parents or family,” Mr. Alslaise. “The generation before us was not allowed to dive when they were young because, after oil was discovered, all the jobs shifted to the oil industry.”

According to Mr. Alslaise, since 2017, when Bahraini authorities introduced pearl diving licenses, many people who signed up had no prior knowledge of pearl diving.

“Now, seven years down the line, many Bahrainis have reconnected with this heritage. Over 1,000 divers are now registered and dive regularly to create an income for themselves.”

Features

How Israel Destroyed Rafah?

CrossFireArabia
March 2, 2025

Israeli forces continue to attack Gaza residents in violation of the terms of the ceasefire agreement, the first phase of which took effect on 19 January. Airstrikes and gunfire targeting civilians and their property continue in various areas of Gaza, resulting in hundreds of deaths and injuries. Meanwhile, the entry and distribution of humanitarian aid – particularly medical equipment, hospital supplies, tents, mobile homes, and essential machinery for rubble removal and body recovery – remains severely hampered. As a result, civilians face deteriorating humanitarian conditions due to the widespread destruction of infrastructure and essential services. In Rafah, displaced residents continue to be prevented from returning to their homes, while Israeli forces are systematically demolishing both private and public buildings in the city.

Israeli forces redeployed along Gaza’s borders in the first phase of the ceasefire agreement continue to maintain absolute control and a heavy military presence in most areas of Rafah in southern Gaza for the 10th consecutive month. Field reports indicate that since the invasion of Rafah in early May 2024 and the seizure of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, the Salah al-Din axis (Philadelphi Corridor), and other parts of the city, Israeli forces have systematically destroyed infrastructure. Explosions and the sound of military machinery remain constant on the outskirts of the city, while residents are still barred from returning to most areas. The majority of Rafah’s displaced population remains in makeshift tents in central Gaza and in Al-Mawasi, Khan Younis.

Iftar for all on the 1st day of Ramadan in Rafah 🇵🇸

Bobby Sands famously said:

“They have nothing in their whole imperial arsenal that can break the spirit of one Irishman 🇮🇪 who doesn't want to be broken.”

The same is true of Palestinians 🇵🇸

🇮🇪 🤝 🇵🇸pic.twitter.com/g7BeynuajN
— Howard Beckett (@BeckettUnite) March 1, 2025

According to information gathered by Al Mezan, Israeli forces have not kept within the designated areas outlined in the ceasefire agreement and continue to maintain positions deep inside Rafah – more than one kilometer inside the city center, extending to the eastern garage area, the Palestinian-Egyptian border to the south, and the eastern perimeter fence. These areas remain highly dangerous, where any movement is met with artillery fire, sniper attacks, and aerial bombardment.

According to the Rafah Municipality, 200,000 of the city’s 300,000 residents are still unable to return. No organizations have been able to access many of the areas that are still under Israeli control, including Abu Al-Saeed in Tal Al-Sultan – stretching from the coast to the Rafah Crossing – as well as neighbourhoods deep within the city, such as Al-Awda and Al-Najma squares. Of Rafah’s total area of 60,000 dunams, 60% has been declared a restricted and highly dangerous zone.

More than 90% of Rafah’s neighbourhoods have been completely or partially destroyed, with severe damage to residential buildings, roads, and essential public infrastructure – including health, government, and commercial facilities. The damage is particularly concentrated in the southern and western parts of the city, where six out of fifteen neighbourhoods and five refugee camps have been completely levelled. In addition, nine medical centers were destroyed, including the Abu Yousef Al-Najjar Hospital – the only government hospital in Rafah – the Kuwaiti Hospital, and the Indonesian Field Hospital. Approximately 70% of sewage and water pumps have been destroyed, while electricity and communications networks have nearly totally collapsed. The amount of rubble in Rafah is estimated at 20 million tons, with many bodies still believed to be trapped beneath it.

According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, Israeli forces have killed 111 civilians and injured 916 others since the ceasefire came into effect. The Rafah Municipality reports that approximately 40% of these casualties occurred in Rafah, as residents attempted to check on their homes and agricultural lands. The most recent victim, Hanaa Tawfiq Suleiman Hassanein (Al-Ghouti), was killed on 21 February 2025 when an Israeli tank fired at her home in the Al-Jeneina neighborhood, in the eastern part of Rafah, shortly after she returned home.

Mr. Mohammed Hassan Abu Sultan, 35 years old, married and a father of two, shared his experience of attempting to return to his home in Rafah:

“In early May 2024, my family and I were forced to flee to Deir al-Balah, and later to Al-Mawasi, Khan Younis, where we struggled to live in a tent with meager resources. When the ceasefire was announced on 19 January 2025, I was overjoyed, believing that I could finally return home and leave the hardships of displacement behind. But the next day, I discovered that the Israeli forces had not completely withdrawn from Rafah. A few days later, I tried to check on my house in the Al-Jeneina neighbourhood. When I arrived in Rafah, I was shocked by the extent of the destruction. Before I even reached my neighbourhood, I and others who were going to inspect our homes came under fire. I barely escaped. I later learned that the gunfire came from an Israeli crane positioned south of Al-Jeneina, with tanks stationed on nearby sand dunes. Every day I hear of more civilians being killed or injured as they try to check on their homes. I am still living in a tent in Al-Mawasi, Khan Younis, enduring the bitter cold and poor conditions, waiting for the full withdrawal of Israeli forces so that I can return to my home – even if it has been destroyed.”

A mass iftar dinner program is organized for Palestinians to break their fast together on the first day of Ramadan amidst the rubble of residential area in Rafah, Gaza on March 01, 2025. (Photo by Ali Jadallah/Anadolu via Getty Images) pic.twitter.com/wuEx2A23dE
— Ali Jadallah 𓂆 (@alijadallah66) March 1, 2025

Similarly, Mohammed Mahdi Mousa Al-Dawoudi, 38 years old, married and a father of four, recounted his attempt to return to his home in Rafah after the ceasefire took effect:

“On 28 May 2024, my family and I, like many others, were forced to flee our home in the Tal Al-Sultan neighbourhood of Rafah due to intense bombardment and the advance of Israeli forces. We took refuge in a small tent in Al-Mawasi, Khan Younis, where we endured displacement and harsh living conditions. The ceasefire was announced on 19 January 2025, after we had waited for several months to return home. I finally went back to check on my home, but when I arrived in Tal Al-Sultan, I was horrified to see entire neighbourhoods reduced to rubble. As we inspected the aftermath of the bombardment in the area, Israeli forces positioned along the Philadelphi Corridor (the Egyptian-Palestinian border) opened fire on us. I barely made it back to Al-Mawasi. I later learned that most Rafah residents are unable to return due to Israeli gunfire and military presence in the eastern and southern parts of the city. Many civilians have been killed trying to reach their homes. I remain displaced in a tent, struggling to survive the freezing temperatures, waiting for the Israeli forces to completely withdraw so that I can return to what remains of my home.

As of the time of this press release, Israeli forces continue to maintain control over most areas of Rafah, attacking residents with gunfire and other weaponry, particularly those attempting to return to their homes. The ongoing Israeli operations include the widespread demolition of homes and infrastructure, especially in the Al-Awda and Tal Al-Sultan neighbourhoods, in what appears to be a deliberate effort to alter the city’s landscape and render it uninhabitable.

Al Mezan unequivocally condemns Israel’s ongoing crimes, perpetrated in furtherance of the continuing genocide in Gaza, particularly in Rafah. We call on the international community to take urgent and concrete measures to end the genocide, stop the systematic destruction of Rafah, and ensure the safe return of displaced residents. Immediate steps must be taken to hold those responsible accountable, including full support for the International Criminal Court and other accountability mechanisms, the imposition of a two-way arms embargo on Israel, and targeted sanctions against individuals and entities complicit in these crimes. The international community must also review and suspend bilateral agreements and diplomatic ties that enable Israel’s violations, work toward dismantling the unlawful occupation, and uphold the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination.

Reliefweb