Israeli gov't committed human rights abuses in 2023, State Department says

• Published date: 22 April 2024
• Author: LEON KRAIEM
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

The section on Israel, which runs 103 pages, documents "credible reports" of more than a dozen types of human rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings, torture, arbitrary detention, conflict-related sexual violence or punishment, and the punishment of family members for alleged offenses by a relative

"The government took some credible steps to identify and punish officials who may have committed human rights abuses," the report noted.

Abuses of detainees, denial of Red Cross visits

The report focuses on the treatment of security detainees, particularly those held under administrative detention, without formal charges or trial dates.

"The law did not include a specific prohibition on torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment practices, and there were credible reports that government officials employed them," the State Department found, noting that the Israeli government "declined to reveal publicly the rules, procedures, and methods of interrogation that it stated would be kept confidential for security reasons."

The State Department cited several local press reports, that it did not independently confirm, of autopsies performed on Palestinian detainees demonstrating evidence of abuse. It also cited reports by NGOs as well as detainee testimonies to the effect that "Palestinian detainees held by Israel were subjected to physical and sexual violence, threats, intimidation, severely restricted access to food and water, exposure to extreme cold without adequate clothing, and regular prolonged periods of isolation."

The report also detailed an announcement on October 23 by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir of "measures to 'make prisoners' living spaces more crowded,' provide mattresses instead of beds, and overall worsen living conditions," noting that "Ben Gvir declared these measures were designed to enable prisons to absorb additional detainees accused of terrorist crimes" following the October 7 attacks.

"During a November 14 visit to a prison where Hamas members who allegedly carried out the October 7 attack were held, Ben Gvir confirmed the detainees were, according to his instructions, shackled in dark cells with seven other prisoners and subjected to harsh living conditions," the report said.

One NGO cited in the report found the Israeli government violated a law that prohibited the detention of children younger than 12, reporting that authorities occasionally held Palestinian children younger than that age...