Palestinian detainees released by Israel show signs of aggravated torture

Testimonies collected from a number of Palestinians who were disappeared by Israeli occupation forces in Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip, and were released yesterday in Rafah detailed aggravated physical and psychological torture practiced against them by the Israel Prison Service (IPS).

The detainees had visibly marks of torture and beatings on their bodies including on their legs, feet and arms.

Mahmoud Al-Nabulsi said: “The army entered my house in the Al-Amal neighbourhood in Khan Yunis and I told them that I was sick and could not move. They arrested me, then put me in a demolished house, and later they transferred us to detention centres in Israel. I stayed in prison for ten days.”

“Every day we were subjected to beatings and torture. I have never seen this torture in my life. They practised the worst [forms of torture] against us.”

“If I had stayed in prison for two more days, I would have died. They were asking me about the tunnels and the [Israeli prisoners of war held in Gaza], and I told them I did not know anything. I am 70 years old,” he explained.

“We did not drink water inside the prison for four days. They poured water on the ground in front of us to torture us while we were thirsty,” he said.

Khaled Al-Nabris said: “When we evacuated Khan Yunis, we travelled on the road by the sea. When we passed the checkpoint I was kidnapped by Israeli army forces. They took us to the prisons, we were subjected to severe torture, we were covered with blankets soaked in water, and we stayed in the extreme cold and we didn’t drink water.”

“The army transferred us to another place. We were subjected to different types of torture. Each place had a different torture process. The officer would hit me on the head, and when I complained, he would hit me more. I could not sleep because of the cold,” he added.

“In addition to physical torture, we are subjected to great psychological humiliation… insults and other things,” he explained.

Detainees, he added “are subjected to double torture, as they are attacked by dogs while they sleep.”

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