Torture as Practice: What Palestinian Testimonies Reveal About The Israeli Prison System.

Photo by Dan Meyers on unsplash.com 

Since October 2023, “at least 84 Palestinians have died in Israeli prisons”, raising concerns of systemic abuse and torture. With the release of over 2,000 Palestinians as part of the ceasefire agreement in October 2025, many have come forward to share testimonies about their detention conditions, despite being threatened with re-arrest should they speak out.

As a result, the Israeli human rights organization, B’Tselem, has released a report titled Living Hell, in which it describes the conditions experienced by 21 Palestinians in Israeli prisons. According to the report, organized violence appears to be the rule rather than the exception. Many testimonies recount having been subjected to beatings, including electric shocks, tear gas, and stun grenades. Living conditions are characterized by “overcrowding, shackling, and limited access to food and hygiene”, as well as the denial of adequate medical care, leading in some cases to amputations and the loss of eyesight and hearing. In this context, many describe having been subjected to, or having witnessed, sexual violence while in detention. This includes forced stripping, severe genital injuries, attacks involving the use of dogs, and forced penetration with objects. Additionally, other testimonies point to the brutality that typically characterizes interrogations, during which Palestinians undergo electric shocks regularly while simultaneously being denied food and access to a lavatory.

The Israeli Prison Service rejects these allegations, claiming them to be false, and maintains that prisons function in accordance with the law, are subject to oversight processes, and regularly review complaints. However, the compiled testimonies suggest that torture is a systemic practice rather than an isolated occurrence. As the director of B’Tselem, Yuli Novak, has stated, Israeli prisons have been converted into torture camps as part of a wider systemic policy to destroy Palestinian society and ensure Palestinians cease to exist altogether. This is further reinforced by the recent adoption in the Knesset of a law introducing the death penalty exclusively against Palestinians, which constitutes a clear violation of international law. As UN experts contend, the legislation includes aspects that are simply “irreconcilable with the absolute prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment”. These include the trial of civilians before military courts, systemic due process violations whereby Palestinians are denied their right to a fair trial, and execution by hanging.

And yet, more than 9,000 Palestinians remain in Israeli detention, including approximately 3,544 administrative detainees held without charge. Testimonies from Palestinians, alongside the recent introduction of capital punishment, make their continued detention a cause for serious concern, as they risk abuse, torture, and unlawful sentencing to death. The international community cannot remain silent as Israel continues to violate international law and systemically deny Palestinians their human rights. Silence in the face of human rights violations is complicity, and a system operating on such complicity cannot credibly claim to defend human rights. As the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Francesca Albanese, has urged, it is imperative that Israel “cease all acts of torture and ill-treatment, grant access to international investigators [...], and ensure accountability for those responsible”. 

written by: Chiara Fachin