Since Israel started its fight against Hamas in Gaza, we’ve heard countless stories of Israel Defense Forces soldiers mistreating Palestinian prisoners, but this is a problem that is also occurring frequently in the occupied West Bank. Now, a new expose by a prominent Israeli newspaper described a recent raid that turned into a weekend of torture and abuse for Palestinian detainees there that won’t do much to help the IDF’s reputation.
The story, published by Ha'aretz, is about a violent raid on the Al-Fawar refugee camp in a remote area of the West Bank situated south of Hebron. Although it is considered one of the less violent refugee camps, it is often the subject of IDF raids and has been under a partial siege since the war began.
The overnight raid on September 18 is considered one of the most disturbing in recent memory. Although no one died, the behavior of IDF soldiers was unconscionable and will leave its victims with lasting psychological and physical damage.
Although only three young detainees were ultimately hauled off at the end of the overnight questioning, it appears that the operation was really intended to remind everyone who is in charge there. The soldiers stormed the camp at around 10 in the evening, and inhabitants were trapped inside their homes until they left later the following afternoon. They entered around 50 homes in the camp, breaking windows and doors, ransacking the homes and mistreating residents.
One man recounted how his nephew, who didn’t want to speak on the record, was forced by soldiers to lie down on his stomach on a bathroom floor while they stuffed hot peppers, sage and peppers into his anus.
The soldiers reportedly brought around 40 detainees to a home that they had forced everyone living in to leave so they could interrogate them. A group of young boys who didn’t have information about a rifle the soldiers were seeking were brutally beaten, and one said that soldiers stuck his head in a toilet and poured water from the tank over his head before a soldier decided to poke one of his fingers in his eye. They reportedly struck disabled people, young girls, and anyone else who they felt like attacking.
In another house, inhabitants recounted how a 24-year-old man was brought to his kitchen and subject to beatings, including in his genital area, that were so bad that he couldn’t even stand up. They also threw away medications belonging to his mother, who was recovering from surgery.
This weekend raid wasn’t the first one carried out by the IDF in the West Bank, and there’s no reason to believe it will be the last.
Why is abuse such a widespread problem for IDF soldiers?
The Israeli army is a conscript military that nearly all citizens will end up being a part of, and it would be unfair to say that all of its soldiers engage in this type of behavior. However, the number of stories we’ve heard of prisoner abuse is shockingly high and indicative of a lack of oversight at best and a complete leadership failure across the board at worst.
Right now, nine members of IDF Force 100 are being investigated by the U.S. Department of State for sexually assaulting a prisoner at the infamous Sde Teiman detention camp following multiple allegations that Palestinians being held there were being tortured and sexually assaulted. Reports indicate detainees have been shackled to hospital beds, forced to wear diapers, subjected to electric shock and force fed. While these types of investigations may be a step in the right direction, we will likely see many more stories of torture and abuse in the months and years to come.
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