Palestinians in Hebron suffer ‘routine’ physical, sexual violence at hands of Israeli soldiers, B’Tselem finds

Palestinians in Hebron suffer routine, severe abuse at the hands of Israeli occupation soldiers, Israeli rights group B’Tselem revealed in its latest report today. It added that the acts of violence were aimed at men, women, teenagers and children.

The report, titled ‘Unleashed‘, describes how “the wave of violence unleashed on Palestinians this past year has changed norms of conduct in the military.”

Over 20 testimonies were collected by B’Tselem from Palestinians who were abused by Israeli occupation soldiers between May and August 2024. Victims describe being randomly seized by soldiers, mostly as they were walking down the streets of the city, going about their daily affairs. “They were beaten and subjected to severe abuse by soldiers, sometimes in the street, and at other times inside military outposts where they were taken,” the rights group said.

“After more than a year of Israel waging an unchecked war against the Palestinian people, and the Israeli government dehumanisation of Palestinians in public discourse, this collective abuse has become part of the routine operations of the Israeli military in the West Bank,” B’Tselem explained.

“Soldiers,” it explained, “are being urged to take more “proactive” and “offensive” actions… In practice, every soldier has been granted virtually unlimited power to use violent means of oppression. Much like the abuse running rampant in Israeli detention facilities for Palestinians (who are classified by Israel as “security prisoners”), soldiers in the field, too, know they will not be held accountable for their conduct.”

As a result, soldiers are searching victims’ phones to find “justification” for harassing and detaining them. “In several incidents, the pretext given for the abuse was “punishment” for content found on phones, such as updates on the situation in Gaza or on military activities in Hebron,” the report explained.

Several victims recounted varying degrees of sexual violence and physical humiliation, ranging from explicit threats of rape, to forced undressing and strong blows to the genitals.

“They kept swearing at me the whole time, and one of them spat at me, too. Itwent on like that for about an hour, and then one of the soldiers said to me in Arabic: ‘We’ll rape you’,” 22-year-old Muhammad Al-Natsheh recalled.

Father of eight, 46-year-old Mu’tasem Da’na, said: “The soldiers blindfolded me and led me … to the military camp … They sang songs … praising Israel and calling for killing of women and children. They made us repeat the words and curse the Palestinians.”

The victims described severe physical and mental abuse, including, among other things, punching and kicking; blows delivered with firearms, batons or a chair; slamming the head against a wall or the body against the floor; whipping with a belt; and, in one case, stabbing, B’Tselem explained.

“In several cases, the soldiers poured an unidentified putrid liquid on the victims, or threw garbage and plastic bottles at them.”

“Most of the victims were abused while blindfolded, with their hands tied, and forced to stay in painful positions for hours on end. Some were forced to sit in the scorching sun for hours, and others in a room with freezing air conditioning.”

As a result of the abuse, “most of the victims were injured and bruised when they were released from the attack. Some required medical attention and were taken to hospital by their families or by acquaintances.” The attacks left a lasting psychological impact, the report explained, highlighting that “some of the victims reported trouble sleeping due to nightmares about the attacks.”

“This reality leaves Palestinians with two options: uproot themselves from their homes, land and communities, or live in constant fear of violence,” B’Tselem warned.

READ: B’Tselem documents ‘war crime’ of torture, abuse in Israel prisons