By Amy Goodman & Denis Moynihan
“When we got off the bus, a soldier said to us: ‘Welcome to hell.’” Those are the words of 45 year-old Fouad Hassan, a father of five from Nablus in the occupied West Bank, who was recently held in Israel’s Megiddo Prison. His words open a devastating report from the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem, exposing Israel’s rapid conversion of Megiddo and eleven other prisons into a network of “torture camps” following Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel.
Fouad is one of 55 Palestinians interviewed by B’Tselem for the report, 30 from the West Bank, 21 from the Gaza Strip, and four who are Israeli citizens. Their searing testimonies are supplemented by news accounts and official reports, creating a shocking mosaic of systemic neglect, abuse, torture, and killings inside the Israeli prison system that have intensified since October 7th, all at the direction of Israel’s far-right Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir.
The accounts B’Tselem has brought to light are shocking. Sari Huriyyah, a 53-year-old real estate lawyer and an Israeli citizen, was arrested over a Facebook post on November 4th. He described what happened to Abd a-Rahman Mar’i, a 23-year-old man held in an isolation cell next to him:
“He screamed in pain constantly, begging for a doctor. The guard would come now and then and swear: ‘Eat Shit! Shut up!’ In the morning, the guards came to count us. One said, ‘Get up, you animal. Get up, you dog.’ They checked him and the whole place went silent. Finally, the doctor said, ’There’s nothing to be done.’ One of the guards said to them, ‘My condolences,’ and they all started laughing. They put him in a black body bag, and carried him out like trash.”
Firas Hassan, a 50-year-old Palestinian Authority official, described being beaten by prison guards and hearing that the attack was being live-streamed so Ben-Gvir could watch:
“We were ten Palestinians in the cell. The forces came in masked and beat us for 50 minutes. They laughed while they hit us, and livestreamed it all. I understand Hebrew and I heard one say, ‘We’re live streaming for Ben Gvir, directly to Ben Gvir.’ Then brought in police dogs, after they tied our hands behind our backs, and blindfolded us.”
Sarit Michaeli is B’Tselem’s international advocacy lead. Speaking on the Democracy Now! news hour, she said the blame for the torture and abuse goes beyond Ben-Gvir:
“I think it’s certainly not the case that Minister Ben-Gvir is the only person responsible, absolutely Prime Minister Netanyahu, who gave him all of this authority, is absolutely responsible and culpable,” Michaeli said, continuing, “These are policies. They’re not the actions of rogue elements. They’re not the actions of individuals who are going against the grain. They’re dictated by the management of the Israeli prison system and by the government.”
Israel’s mainstream TV news outlet, Channel 12, aired a video showing a group of Israeli soldiers apparently gang raping a prisoner, leaving him with serious injuries to his rectum and with broken ribs.
While the U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller admitted seeing the video and acknowledged, “there ought to be zero tolerance for sexual abuse, rape of any detainee, period,” there are no indications what the Biden administration conveyed to Israel.
But without U.S. pressure, Michaeli explains, the abuses B’Tselem highlights in its report won’t change:
“We do not expect any Israeli investigations to fundamentally alter the situation. We’ve appealed to all nations and also to all relevant international institutions to look into the situation. Specifically, we’ve also appealed to the International Criminal Court, because these offenses that we list in our reports are war crimes. They also reach the magnitude of crimes against humanity. This is the responsibility of the international community, including the United States government.”
On August 5th, the United Nations issued a statement that began, “Reports of alleged torture and sexual violence in Israel’s Sde Teiman prison are grossly illegal and revolting, but they only represent the tip of the iceberg.”
Turkey has asked to join South Africa’s genocide case against Israel in the International Court of Justice, while the prosecutor at the International Criminal Court is seeking indictments against Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
Palestinian solidarity activists are focusing on presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris, who opted not to preside over Netanyahu’s recent address to a joint session of Congress. Activists disrupted her speech in Detroit on Wednesday, in the key swing state of Michigan, chanting, “Kamala, Kamala, you can’t hide. We won’t vote for genocide.” Harris replied, “You know what? If you want Donald Trump to win, then say that; otherwise, I’m speaking.”
With Palestinian solidarity actions planned both inside and outside the upcoming Democratic National Convention, all eyes are on Vice President Harris, as demands for a Gaza ceasefire continue.