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The Commission of Detainees' Affairs revealed in report issued today that the Israeli occupation seeks to deprive minors from Jerusalem their Palestinian identity through a series of violation against them in particular.
This issue has been discussed in a meeting organized by the Commission, attended by many released minor detainees from Jerusalem, the released detainee Durgham A'raaj as their representative, Amjad Abu Asab the head of minor detainees' of Jerusalem committee and many lawyers from the commission to document minors' testimonies on the violations they were subjected to in prison.
The Head of the commission Qadri Abu Baker stated that the occupation's policies against minors aim at isolating Jerusalem from the rest of the Palestinian cities, in an attempt to destroy the future of the Palestinian people.
The released detainee Durgham A'raaj reviewed the practices of Israeli occupation authorities against minors from Jerusalem, which aim at taking out their national identity, in an attempt to control their minds in this sensitive age in a way that violates all moral conventions guaranteed by the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
A'raaj stated that the occupation introduces dangerous alternatives of actual imprisonment, to avoid the integration between minors from Jerusalem and minors from the West Bank. Thus, minors from Jerusalem got separated in different sections to integrate them with Israeli criminal prisoners. This happened when they transferred many of them to Ofek criminals' prison, where in many cases minors where subjected to beating, cursing and stealing their personal belongings.
In addition, occupation authorities transfer minors to "Israeli Social Shelters", in which they got integrated with Israeli criminals. They are provided with curriculums that aim at "how to be an Israeli". They provide minors with weed by a psychological advisor and give them sedative medications at day hours and hypnotics at night which lead to addiction.
A'raaj discussed the topic of house detention, in which family became jailor against their son, after committing themselves to watch and confine their son and prevent him from being integrated with the society. This leaves bad psychological effects on the child and creates a state of aggression and excessive nervousness. Then, the child is transferred to actual imprisonment after he ends his house detention.
The Commission confirmed that the Legal department at the Commission of Detainees' Affairs had listened to testimonies of released minors from Jerusalem, and now it works on documenting forms and under oath testimonies of many minor detainees from Jerusalem to complain and try to put an end to these Israeli policies.
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The Commission of Detainees' Affairs announced today morning the martyrdom of the detainee Sami Abu Dyak in the prisons of Israeli occupation.
The commission stated that after long months of warning on the seriousness of his health condition he might die at any moment due to the crime of medical negligence and deliberate murdering by the Zionist occupation.
Abu Dyak is 36 years old and he was sentenced to a life term and 30 years. He was imprisoned since 2002, and he underwent a surgery at Soroka Hospital in 2015 in which they removed more than 80cm of his intestines. Soon after, he was diagnosed with cancer in the intestines, renal failure and lung insufficiency.
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The Commission of Detainees' Affairs revealed in a report issued today the details on the suffering of the sick detainee Sami Abu Dyak, who is facing death alone in the Israeli jails.
The following information clarifies the violations practiced against Abu Dyak in the past years.
Sami Abu Dyak, 38 years old, is from Seilet Al-Daher village near Jenin. He has been arrested in 17/7/2002 and sentenced to 3 life terms in addition to 30 years.
It is worth mentioning that he was not suffering from any disease before detention, but in September 2015 he was transferred to Soroka Hospital, where he had severe pain in his intestines. He was diagnosed of intestinal obstruction due to cancerous tumor.
He underwent a surgery in 6/9/2015 to treat the intestinal obstruction and then he got moved prison again. His health condition deteriorated after few days and then he was transferred to Assaf HaRofeh Hospital, and he was diagnosed with poisoning due to the lack of cleanliness of the prison. Then, he underwent many surgeries but to no avail due to the renal failure.
Soon after, his health condition recovered slowly after undergoing a surgery to join the intestines and having chemotherapy.
Abu Dyak and many other detainees are victims of the deliberate medical negligence in Israeli prisons, where he was not provided with direct medical follow-up and began to suffer against from spreading the cancer in addition to a lot of side effects caused by the chemotherapy.
Their medical reports showed a good response to the chemotherapy and that he does not suffer from any side effects. Later medical examinations showed different estimates and that he would live for only two years.
In spite of the medical reports that prove the poor health of Abu Dyak, prisons' administration refused the request of the commission to release him.
However, lawyers of the commission submitted another request to early-release Abu Dyak in 4/8/2019, but the Israeli authorities did not care about his serious condition and decided to hold another session to discuss the early release request in January 2020.
It is worthy to mention that Abu Dyak's health condition deteriorated in the last two weeks and he may die at any moment. He got transferred many times to Assaf Harofeh Hospital because of the bleeding and weight loss which reached to 40 kg, and the sugar level reduced to 20.
The Commission of Detainees' Affairs stated that the Israeli occupation authorities hold full responsibility on the life and fate of Abu Dyak, and called on the International institutions and human rights organization to immediately intervene and stop the medical crime committed against him. It also requested to release him immediately to live his final days with his mother.
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Israeli occupation authorities arrested 417 Palestinians from the occupied territories in October including 75 minors and 16 women.
Detainees' institutions and human rights organizations the Commission of Detainees and Ex-detainees' Affairs, the Palestinian Society Prisoner's Club, Al Dameer Association for Human Rights) pointed out that occupation authorities arrested 188 citizens from Jerusalem, 30 from Ramallah, 60 from Hebron, 22 from Jenin, 22 from Bethlehem, 22 from Nablus, 26 from Tulkarem, 21 from Qalqilia, 5 from Tubas, 3 from Salfit, 9 from Jericho and 9 from Gaza Strip.
5000 detainees are currently imprisoned in Israeli jails including 40 women, 200 minors and 450 administrative detainees, while 85 administrative detention orders have been issued.
The battle of hunger strike is continuous
7 detainees in Israeli jails continued their hunger strike on October 2019 protesting against their administrative detention. Two of them made an agreement with the Israeli authorities to specify the period of their detention in exchange of ending their strike. Those detainees are Ahmad Ghannam who entered a strike for 102 days, Tareq Qa'dan 89 days, and Hiba Labadi 42 days.
Another 4 detainees continued their hunger strike: Ismail Ali since 111 days, Ahmad Zahran since 51 days and Mus'ab Hindi since 49 days. The detainee Yaqub Husain joined the strike at the end of October protesting against his solitary confinement.
Human rights organizations warned of the seriousness of health conditions for the detainees Ismail Ali, Ahmad Zahran and Mus'ab Hindi, where they are suffering from bad health conditions due to their strike such as weight loss, week vision, and inability to move.
However, the administration of prisons continues to implement systematic abusive measures against detainees on hunger strike through isolating them, holding them in narrow cells unfit for human life, depriving them of family and lawyer visits.
Administrative detention and minors
Israeli occupation forces use the policy of administrative detention as a collective punishment against Palestinian people. According to statistics in October 2019, occupation authorities issued 85 administrative detention orders, including 51 orders against persons arrested last month.
847 administrative detention orders were issued since the beginning of 2019, including 334 new orders.
Administrative detention is banned in accordance with International law, where Israeli militant laws related to administrative detention are based on the Mandatory Emergency law of 1945, in which the Israeli military commander depends on confidential files in most cases of administrative detention.
The Israeli Supreme court approved in many cases the possibility of not revealing this information, which violates the detainee's right to know the reason of his detention. Article 9 (2) of the International Special Covenant on Political and Civil Rights which stipulates "that any arrested person is entitled to be informed of the reason for his arrest and he shall be informed about any charge against him".
Most of male administrative detainees are currently imprisoned at Ofer and Megiddo prisons, where female detainees are held at Damoun prison. A case in point on minor detainees is the 17-year-old Suliman Abu Ghos from Qalandia refugee camp. He got arrested under administrative detention in 14\9\2019 for 4 months. It is worthy to mention that he was arrested in 14\1\2019 and sentenced to 4 months of administrative detention and a fine of NIS 1000 on the charge of incitement.
Another case in point is the 18-year-old Nidal Amer. He was sentenced to 1 year of real imprisonment, but when he finished the sentence they arrested him back and sentenced him to 6 months of administrative detention.
The 16-year-old detainee Hafeth Zayod from Jenin was arrested in 26/8/2019 and was sentenced to 4 months of administrative detention.
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There are 39 women detainees in the Israeli jails, held at Damoun prison except for the detainee Hiba Al-Labadi, who entered a hunger strike since 41 days and held at Al-Ramlah prison clinic, and the wounded detainee Suhair Islamya who is held at Shaare Tzedek Hospital, the commission of Detainees' Affairs stated.
The commission pointed out that 28 women detainees are sentenced to maximum 16 years, 8 detainees are under custody and 3 detainees under the administrative detention such as Hiba Al-labadi, Alaa' Basheer and Shuruq Al-badan.
The commission also stated that some detainees are suffering from bad health conditions. A case in point is the detainee Israa' Jaabees, Hiba Al-Labadai, Shuruq Dwayat, Marah Bakeer and Amal Taqatqa who do not receive any medical care.
The commission revealed that the occupation authorities issued insane sentences against women detainees with high fines and long years. Cases in point: the detainee Shuruq Dwayat who is sentenced to 16 years and a fine of NIS 80.000, Shatella Abu Ayyad sentenced to 16 years, Aysha Afghani and Maysoun Jabali 15 years, Nourhan Awwad sentenced to 13 years, Israa Jaabees sentenced to 11 years, Fadwa Hamada, Amani Hasheem and Malak Suliman are sentenced to 10 years.
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The cause of Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails needs real international intervention and serious Arab actions to stop the flagrant violations practiced against them, which breaches all humanitarian laws, said the Head of the Commission of Detainees; Affairs Qadri Abu Baker. Abu Baker pointed out, in a press conference organized by the Ministry of Information and the National Committee for supporting detainees, that there are 5.000 detainees distributed to 22 prisons, including 700 sick detainees, 230 minors, 43 women, 500 administrative detainees and 5 on hunger strike.
They live in bad and cruel detention conditions which require international, legal and human rights efforts to save them.
Abu Baker warned of the seriousness of health conditions of detainees on hunger strike, especially the detainee Ahmad Ghannam who entered a strike since 100 days, the detainee Hiba Labadi who entered a strike since 28 days, Tareq Qa'dan, Ismail
Ali, Mus'ab Hindi and Ahman Zahran.
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The Commission of Detainees; Affairs warns from the deterioration of health condition of the Jordanian detainee Abdulrahman Mar'y, 29, who is currently held at Ofer prison.
The commission stated that Mar'y is suffering from very serious health conditions, he has cancer since 2010 and he needs medical follow-up and needs to make regular checkups.
However, he suffering from medical negligence since he was arrested and was never provided any medication.
Occupation forces arrested Mar'y in 2/9/2019 while he was going to relative's wedding in the West Bank through Karamah crossing. The detainee threatened to enter a hunger strike last week in case the Israeli court insists on confirming his administrative detention for 4 months, noting that the next hearing in the court is going to be on October 23. It is worthy to mention that there are 25 Jordanian detainees in Israeli jails, including Hiba Labadi who is continuing her hunger strike since 27 days protesting against her administrative detention.
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The Commission of Detainees Affairs stated that the Military court of Ofer issued a sentence of Administrative Detention against Hiba Labadi for five months, noting that she started a hunger strike since 24 days.
The commission pointed out that the decision of the court came after a closed session held for discussing the administrative detention against Hiba, after the great efforts by the Legal Department at the Commission of Detainees Affairs in
coincidence with Jordanian efforts to release her. However, all pleas were rejected.
The commission stated that issuing such a sentence against Labadi reveals the criminality of this occupation, where the Jordanian government claims international bodies to expend efforts to save her life.
The Commission of Detainees Affairs condemns the detention of the minor Khaled Ghannam from Qalqilia
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The Commission condemned the detention of the minor Khaled Ghannam, 12, from Qalqilia by the occupation authorities yesterday, where today is his birthday.
The commission stated that the detention of this child comes in the context of the ferocious attack against Palestinian children implemented by the occupation government and the Israeli Intelligence, which violates all international charters and
conventions that stipulated the necessity of protecting childhood rights.
The commission also stated that the Israeli government holds full responsibility on the detention of Ghannam, and warned of threatening him and exposing him to illegal interrogation to force him confess guilt.
However, the commission pointed out that the occupation authorities still commit crimes publicly against minors, and that the Palestinian childhood is under great danger due to the silence of the international community towards the Israeli
violations.
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Ramallah: the occupation authorities arrested 514 Palestinian citizens from the occupied territories in September 2019 including 81 minors and 10 women.
Detainees' institutions and Human Rights Organizations (the Commission of Detainees and Ex-detainees' Affairs, the Palestinian Society Prisoner's Club, Al Dameer Association for Human Rights) pointed out that the occupation authorities arrested 175 citizens from Jerusalem, 54 from Ramallah, 100 from Hebron, 36 from Jenin, 25 from Bethlehem, 45 from Nablus, 21 from Tulkarem, 8 from Salfit, 10 from Jericho and 11 from Gaza Strip.
The total number of Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails until September 2019 reached up to 5000, including 43 women, 200 minors and 450 administrative detainees, while 101 administrative detention orders were issued.
Samer Arbeed… from Interrogation cells to Hadassah Hospital in critical condition
Occupation forces arrested Samer Arbeed in September 25, 2019 from his workplace. He got beaten by Special Forces since the first moment of detention. He has been kidnapped and transferred to Al-Maskoubya interrogation center and deprived of lawyer visits.
He was subjected to exceptional measures of torture at Al-Maskoubya interrogation center. Although he told the judge that he has pain in the chest and keep vomiting, the court paid no attention. Then, he has been transferred to hospital on Friday September 27, after he lost consciousness.
Occupation forces did not inform his family and lawyer about his health condition until Saturday September 28, where his lawyer received a phone call from occupation forces telling him that Samer is in the hospital. They did not allow the lawyer to visit him until Sunday, September 29 for ten minutes during which Samer was unable to communicate.
Occupation authorities refused to give his family and lawyer the medical reports, but they knew that has had fractures in the chest, bruises all over his body and kidney failure.
In spite of announcing the serious condition of Samer, occupation forces extended his detention for 5 days and prevented his lawyer again from visiting him until next Monday.
Despite the international criticism and reports issued by committees and bodies of the United Nations, Israeli forces still practicing torture against Palestinian detainees, without taking into consideration the international laws, especially the Anti-Torture convention.
Occupation authorities still hold 43 women including 16 mothers and other 3 under administrative detention in difficult conditions
The Israeli occupation authorities still hold 43 Palestinian women at Damoun prison, practicing violations against them since the first moment of detention. Moreover, they do not pay attention to the health conditions of those women, impose high fines and detain them in cruel and difficult living conditions.
Detainees' institutions stated that 16 women of those who are held at Damoun prison are mothers, and other 3 are held under the administrative detention; Shorouq Al-Badan from Bethlehem, Alaa' Fahmi Basheer from Qalqilya and Hiba Al-Labadi.
Hiba has been sentenced to 5 months of administrative detention; she started a hunger strike since 17 days protesting against torture she's subjected to during interrogation.
Reports showed that 11 women are under arrest, where 29 women are sentenced. The longest sentence goes for Shorouq Dwayat and Shatella Ayyad who are sentenced to 16 years of imprisonment, Aysha Afghani and Maysun Jabalai who are sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Many of women detainees suffer from bad health conditions such as: Israa Ja'abees at Damoun prison. She suffers from burns and needs more surgeries to get better.
Administrative detainees continue their battle against detention
9 detainees in the Israeli jails continue their hunger strike against administrative detention during September 2019. Three of them had agreement to define their period of detention; Sultan Khalaf, Naser Jadaa' and Thaer Hamdan.
6 of them still under the hunger strike such as: Ahmad Ghannam since 89 days, Ismail Ali since 79 days and Tareq Qa'dan since 72 days. Hiba Al-labadi, Ahmad Zahran and Mus'ab Hindi started a hunger strike in September.
Hiba started the hunger strike in September 24, 2019, after she was exposed to physical and psychological torture for more than one month during interrogation, where she has been transferred to Damoun prison and then to Jalamah interrogation center.
Ahmad Zahran and Mus'ab Hindi started the hunger strike after the denial of their demands to end their administrative detention.
The administration of prisons and the judiciary system of the occupation still implementing abusive policies against detainees on hunger strike such as: holding them in cells unfit for human life, depriving them of their basic rights, preventing family visits and lawyers' visits.
Detainees' institutions pointed out that the hunger strike is the only way to confront the administrative detention imposed on them by the Israeli occupation, which increased after 2015.
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From approving brutal interrogation techniques to writing false medical reports, doctors in Israel have taken an active role in the torture of Palestinian prisoners.
By Ruchama Marton
If the Shin Bet runs a school for its agents and interrogators, the curriculum most certainly includes a class on how to tell a lie. The texts taught, it seems, do not change with the years. In 1993, responding to accusations that the Shin Bet brutally tortured Palestinian detainee Hassan Zubeidi, then Commander of the IDF Northern Command Yossi Peled told Israeli journalist Gabi Nitzan that “there is no torture in Israel. I served for 30 years in the IDF and I know what I am talking about.”
Twenty-six years later, Deputy Chief of the Shin Bet and former Shin Bet interrogator, Yitzhak Ilan repeated the same line to news presenter Ya’akov Eilon on national television while speaking about Samer Arbeed, a 44-year-old Palestinian who was hospitalized in critical condition after he had been reportedly tortured by the Shin Bet. Arbeed is suspected of organizing a deadly bombing that killed a teenage Israeli girl and wounded her father and brother at a spring in the West Bank in August. Ilan bristled at the notion that the Shin Bet was somehow responsible for Arbeed’s condition.
Putting aside these absurd forms of denial, as a doctor and founder of Physicians for Human Rights – Israel, I have always been troubled by how Israeli doctors cooperate with and enable Israel’s torture industry.
In June 1993, I organized an international conference in Tel Aviv on behalf of PHR against torture in Israel. At the conference, I presented a Shin Bet medical document that had been discovered by chance by Israeli journalist Michal Sela. In the document, the Shin Bet doctor was asked whether the prisoner in question had any medical restrictions when it came to keeping them in isolation, whether they could be tied, whether their face could be covered, or whether they could be made to stand for prolonged periods of time.
The Shin Bet denied such a document ever existed. “There is no document. It was simply an experimental paper that is not in use,” the agency claimed. Four years later, a second document, suspiciously similar to the first, came to light. That document asked doctors to sign off on torture in accordance with several previously agreed-upon clauses.
The first document, along with other findings, were published in the book titled “Torture: Human Rights, Medical Ethics and the Case of Israel.” The book cannot be found in Israel; Steimatzky, Israel’s oldest and largest bookstore chain, has banned its sale. Perhaps this is further proof that there is no torture in Israel.
After the document was uncovered, PHR turned to the Israel Medical Association and asked it to join the struggle against torture. The IMA requested that PHR hand over the names of the Shin Bet doctors who signed off on the document so that they could be dealt with internally.
I refused to hand over the names and told the IMA attorney that I was not interested in going after rank-and-file doctors — I wanted to change the entire system. That meant doing away with legitimacy granted to confessions exacted under torture, educating IMA members about non-cooperation with torturers, and particularly providing active help to those doctors who do report on suspicion of torture or brutal interrogations.
Back then, the IMA was satisfied with putting our statements while doing nothing to prevent the Shin Bet’s doctors from cooperating with torture. Furthermore, the organization failed to fulfill its obligation to establish a forum for doctors to report on suspected torture.
An ethical, moral, and practical failure
But it is not only doctors in the Shin Bet and the Israel Prison Service that collaborate with torture. Doctors in emergency rooms across Israel write false medical opinions in accordance with the demands of the Shin Bet. Take, for example, the case of Nader Qumsieh from the West Bank city of Beit Sahour. He was arrested in his home on May 4, 1993 and was brought to Soroka Medical Center in Be’er Sheva five days later. There a urologist diagnosed him a hemorrhage and a torn scrotum.
Qumsieh testified that he was beaten during his interrogation and kicked in his testicles.
Ten days later, Qumsieh was brought before the same urologist for a medical examination, after the latter had received a phone call from the Israeli military. The urologist wrote a retroactive letter (as if it had been written two days earlier), without actually conducting an additional examination of the patient, in which he said that “according to the patient, he fell down the stairs two days before he arrived in the emergency room.” This time, the diagnosis was “superficial hematoma in the scrotal area, which corresponds to local bruises sustained between two and five days prior to the examination.” The urologist’s original letter, written after the first examination, disappeared from Qumsieh’s medical file.
History teaches us that doctors everywhere easily and effectively internalize the regime’s values, and many of them become loyal servants of the regime. That was the case in Nazi Germany, in the United States, and in various countries in Latin America. The same goes for Israel. Qumsieh’s case, along with countless others, reflects the ethical, moral, and practical failure of the medical establishment in Israel vis-à-vis torture.
Already back in the 18th century, jurists — rather than doctors — published legal opinions accompanied by proof that there is no connection between causing pain and getting to the truth. Thus, both torture and confessions exacted through pain were legally disqualified. One can only assume that the heads of the Shin Bet, the army, and the police know this bit of history.
And yet, torture — which includes both mental and physical cruelty — continues to take place on a large scale. Why? Because the real goal of torture and humiliation is to break the spirit and body of the prisoner. To eliminate his or her personality.
The legal understanding for forbidding torture is based on the utilitarian idea that one cannot arrive at the truth through inflicting pain . But doctors are committed — first and foremost — to the idea that anything that causes physical or mental harm to a patient is prohibited.
The Shin Bet medical eligibility document allows for sleep prevention, it allows interrogators to expose prisoners to extreme temperatures, to beat them, to tie them for long hours in painful positions, to force them to stand for hours until the vessels in their feet burst, to cover their heads for prolonged periods of time, to sexually humiliate them, to break their spirits by severing their ties to family and lawyers, to keep them in isolation until they lose their sanity.
The Shin Bet’s medical eligibility form is not the same as the one used to check eligibility to join the air force or even to drive a car. This kind of “eligibility” leads the prisoner directly into the torture chamber — and the doctor knows this. The doctor knows to what kind of systematic process of pain and humiliation he or she is lending their consent and approval. It is doctors who oversee the torture, examine the tortured prisoner, and write the medical opinion or the pathology report.
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The Commission of Detainees' Affairs published precise and agonizing details on what happened with the detainee Hiba Al-Labadi, who started a hunger strike since 14 days protesting against her administrative detention. She's currently held in the isolation of Jalamah prison in hard conditions, where she was exposed to many violations by Israeli inspectors all the time.
The commission cited the full testimony of Al-Labadi through the advocate of the commission, and here is the full text of her testimony: "in August 20, 2019 I came from Jordan with my mother and aunt to attend my cousin's wedding. I planned for a vacation of five days full of joy, but the occupation took me to another word that I wasn't expecting even in my nightmares."
"We arrived at Allenby Bridge at 9:00 am. I was kept in a room for two hours and they closed the door, they opened it after I screamed. A female soldier kept guarding me, and during that time I got inspected, where I refused to take off my underwear. Then, I got handcuffed with plastic ties and blindfolded. They transferred me to a military base, and held me under the sunbeams for half an hour and then took me to a room. They questioned me about my health condition and inspected me again. I told the soldier that I have the period and that I must change my menstrual pads. The soldier agreed under the condition of entering the toilet with me. The toilet was so narrow and it has a capacity for one person only. She entered with me holding her gun machine and staring at me while changing. I was shocked, embarrassed and humiliated and felt of the flagrant violation of my privacy and my humanitarian rights. Then, they transferred me to Al-Maskoubya interrogation center. I remained there for 3 hours until they brought another woman, and then they transferred me to Petah Tikva interrogation center".
"I arrived at Petah Tikva at 8:00 pm. I was so tired due to the long hours of travel, the period and the harsh treatment of soldiers. I walked through narrow corridors and stairs and the cells were underground. The soldier kept pushing me and treating me aggressively. I took a rest for half an hour and then they interrogated me until the dawn of the next day".
"The interrogation was conducted at 9:00 am and continued to the next day in the first 16 days. During these long hours, they used to take me to the cell twice on mealtimes for half an hour each time. They transferred me to Megiddo and Jalamah prisons and they took me back to Petah Tikva interrogation center. I remained under interrogation for 35 days in very tough conditions".
"The interrogation was very cruel and violent, and it remained for long hours while I was setting tied to the chair, which caused pains in my back, hands and neck. Interrogators kept yelling at me loudly and they were setting close to me touching my leg deliberately in a provocative way. They spit on and described me with ugly descriptions. They cursed me saying: looser, mean, animal, ugly and many cruel words that I hear for the first time in my life. They told me that I am an extremist and they cursed the Islamic and Christian religions and said that Judaism is the best and that other religions are racist"
"They threatened me and said that they arrested my mother and sister in an attempt to force me confess. After they failed in this, they threatened me with the administrative detention. They told me "we do not have any evidence against you, but we have the administrative detention with the authority to renew it for seven years and a half, and then we will detain you in the West Bank and prevent you from going to Jordan and deprive you of family visits". They tried to stress me in all means.
"Many interrogators questioned me and they were treating me in a bad way. They held me in a narrow cell full of insects and gave me stinky pajamas. Walls are made of cement, very rough which I cannot lean on. The mattress is very thin and without any cover or pillow. Lights on all the time and there is no windows in the cell. There is high humidity, bad smell and there is no water. I asked to take me out of the cell but they refused and screamed on me. They intended to humiliate me.
The bathroom was like a grave, it's very ugly, without a splash of shower and there is no place for hanging the clothes. Soldiers stand outside the bathroom and I was afraid that one of them may open the door at any moment. The bathroom was scary and disturbing. They allege that they provide food and bathrooms for detainees, but the question is what the conditions of the food and the bathroom are?"
Food was very bad, since I am vegetarian. I refused to eat for a week which caused me dizziness and they took me to the clinic. Then I used to eat some bread and yoghurt, while interrogators were deliberately eating Kunafah in front of me"
"They used to blindfold and handcuff me during the transfer between courts and the transfer between interrogation rooms, which caused me severe pains all over my body".
"The Jordanian Consular visited me in September 3, 2019, and after this visit they transferred me to Jalamah prison for three days and then to Megiddo prison for three days to force me confess. They intended to bring men in front of the cell's door, pretending that they are detainees and they want to help me, and they also asked me to tell them about my statements in the interrogation, but I did not have anything to say".
"The conditions at Jalamah prison are very difficult. I felt like I'm living in a plastic house, where the cell has a yard covered with plastic from all sides and without ventilation. The humidity is very high that I could not turn on the fan. The cell is full of insects, ants and cockroaches, and the food was very bad".
"After that, they informed me that they will transfer me to Damoun prison with female detainees. When I arrived at Damoun prison I waited in the military vehicle “Bosta” for two hours and then they told me that I must go to the court. Then, they moved me to Megiddo prison for three days, where it was very cold and I asked for a blanket but they refused to give me. Instead, they gave me a thin mattress without a cover or pillow, and the room was full of ants."
"Thereafter, they took me back to Petah Tikva interrogation center. I was shocked because they told me that interrogation ended and that I will be transferred to Damoun prison. The head of the interrogation center said to me that if I could not bear the circumstances there I can give you sleeping pills. I said no, you ca give them to interrogators instead of me".
"It is worthy to mention that the Bosta "vehicle for transfer between prisons and courts" is another story of torture and suffering. They turn on the AC on high temperature and kept me inside for 3-4 hours. I stayed nine days in Petah Tikva, and they interrogated me 3-4 times. The last six days they did not interrogate but they kept me in the same difficult conditions".
"Psychological torture is harder than physical torture. It is more tiring and they intended to harm me. I did not see such an extent of hatred and aggression in my whole life. The place was full of iron, iron doors, iron locks and even iron hearts. I lost the sense of humanity, where they did not know what humanity means. I told the interrogator that the psychological torture they use is more difficult than the physical one, he said I know".
"In September 18, 2019 I was moved to section 3 in Damoun prison with women detainees. Each woman has a different story. I was shocked when I saw the detainee Israa Ja'abees and other wounded detainees."
In September 26, 2019 I got transferred to the cells of Jalamah prison as a punishment due to the hunger strike. The cell has 4 surveillance cameras, where I cannot change my clothes. The bathroom has a glass door, and the toilet also has a camera in front of it, but I use a blanket to cover it. The bathroom has no place to put a blanket to cover, therefore, I did not change my clothes since 4 days and I could not take a shower due to the lack of privacy".
"I asked for the Holy Quran and carpet of prayer, they refused at the beginning and then agreed after I told them that I have the right to practice my religious rights, and that I will inform Human rights organizations about this. They brought the Quran of mine and deprived me from other belongings which remained at Damoun prison".
"They prevented me from going out to the yard, and used to inspect me 6 times a day in a provocative way. I am stressed and I don’t sleep well due to disturbance. They came to inspect the room at any time without taking my privacy as female into consideration."
"Today they took me to a doctor in the clinic of the prison, where I had accelerated heartbeat and stomachache"
"What I suffered in the interrogation and the detention conditions of cruelty and atrocity, I felt that this might be just imagination, but I lived it. It is abnormal and unjust, where I heard about their treatment but it is different from the reality. This experience is the greatest injustice to humanity, thus, we prefer death rather than humiliation.
This statement was cited on September 29, 2019
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Samer Al-Arbeed, 44 Years old, He was arrested by the Israeli army on Wednesday 25 September 2019 in front of his workplace in Ramallah. He was beaten by Special Forces who arrested him according to his wife, who was with him at the time of his arrest. Then he was transferred to the Al- Maskoubia interrogation center – Jerusalem and prevented from seeing his lawyer.
Al-Arbeed was taken to Hadassah Hospital on Friday 27. September 2019 for treatment in critical condition due to the torture he suffered during interrogation. Al- Arbeed lost consciousness and suffered fractures in the rib cage, as a result of torture, bruises and beating throughout his body and severe kidney failure, and was taken to the hospital without telling his lawyer or family.
It turned out that the prisoner Samer Al-Arbeed told the military judge at the court hearing that he felt pain in his chest, and could not swallow and continue to vomit, and that he is suffering from severe health malaise. He was tortured in order to obtain security confessions under torture and that there were bruises on his body, neck, chest and feet, however his detention was extended by the military judge for 8 days on 26 September 2019 and was not transferred to hospital.
On Saturday 28 September 2019, the detainee officer told his lawyer that Samer was taken due to a serious health condition to Hadassah / Al-Issawiya Hospital. When the lawyer went to him, he was not allowed to visit and told that he was in a coma and could not talk. He was put on artificial respirators and suffered fractures in several areas of his body.
His lawyer applied for release because of his serious health condition, but was refused because he faces serious security charges and receives the necessary treatment.
The Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper quoted the Israeli security official as saying that Al- Arbeed had been subjected to an "emergency investigation," allowing torture to be carried out, on the grounds that Al-Arbeed was a "time bomb" and that torture was used to prevent security operations.
Second of October 2019, Nour Al-Arbeed, the wife of the prisoner Samer Al-Arbeed, said, there is no new information about his health condition. The occupation also refuses to give the family medical reports about his health. In addition, the family contacted Hadassah Hospital in particular and refused to give information about the health condition of Al-Arbeed. According to Al-Arbeed’s wife, they are getting information from the Hebrew media
Second of October 2019. His lawyer, Mahmoud Hassan, also explained that the military court rejected the request for the release of Al- Arbeed and his detention will be extended until Thursday. 10. October. 2019
Reports from lawyers on 8th October, said that Israeli authority still not allowed his family and his lawyer to visit him and to meet him at the hospital although he is in a critical health condition, and they extend his arrest until 15th October 2019.
In 1991, Israel signed the Convention against Torture ( Article 2), which obliges States parties to prohibit the use of torture and other unlawful or violent practices against detainees in interrogation rooms. Also torture prohibited in all its forms, according to International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Article 7).
Israel permits torture by using the pretext of the so-called security necessities as an exceptional circumstance. Israel violates international law and all international conventions by using torture against Palestinian detainees, which in many cases led to the death of many of them, such as the martyr Arafat Jaradat, Aziz Oweisat and the last martyr Nassar Taqatqa.
According to Article VII and VIII of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, torture is classified as a crime against humanity and a war crime.
What is happening these days to Samer Arbeed confirm that Israeli authority is using torture in a systematic way and a policy towards Palestinian political prisoners.
The Commission of Detainees Affairs calls all the international human rights organizations to immediately investigate in the circumstances of the torture of Samer Al-Arbeed, and calls the United Nations and international institutions to stand up to their responsibilities and hold Israel accountable for its ongoing crimes against Palestinian prisoners.
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The Commission of detainees' Affairs stated that the Israeli occupation authorities hold full responsibility towards the health condition and life of the detainee Samer Arbeed from Ramallah. He got hospitalized in Hadasa Hospital in a serious health condition due to torture and beating by interrogators.
The Commission clarified that the health condition of Arbeed is very serious and he is prevented from visits. He got physically tortured after the Israeli intelligence took the permission from the Israeli Supreme Court, considering that he is very dangerous.
Arbeed has fractures in the chest, bruises all over his body and kidney failure due to the intense beating.
The commission warned of a real crime that might be committed against the detainee Samer Arbeed especially that all evidences prove that there are punitive measures and brutal attacks have been practiced against him.
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The Commission denounced the campaigns of systematic arrests carried out by the Israeli occupation forces which included 52 citizens from the West Bank and Jerusalem.
the arrests in the West Bank included: Basel Flayan, Jamal Ayaseh, Murad Khmour, Bilal Saifi, Hazem Asi, Abdulrahman Rayan, Udai Husain Hamza Husain, Ali Jadaa, Yousef Marhoom, Wisam Rabee', Ismail Halabya, Tamer Nashriti, Eqab Swaiti, Thaer Swiati, Tareq Abu Tabeekh, Muhammad Nassar, Nezar Sider and Rami Ewaiwi.
Arrests in Jerusalem included: Mohammed Fawzi Obeid, Zia Ayman Obeid, Sufian Nasser Mahmoud, Mohammed Nasser Mahmoud, Akram Fadi Mustafa, Zaid Ajlouni, Mahmoud Badawi, Mohammed Rajab Obeid, Waseem Iyad Dari, Basil Mohammed Darbas, Qusay Mohammad Darbas, Rashad Amjad Nasser, and Haroon Mohammed Muhaisen, Wasim Nayef Obaid, Hamza Mohammed Nasser, Issa Mohammed Nasser, Mohammed Abdullah Dari, Mahmoud Abdullah Dari, Mahmoud Jamal Attia, Ali Jamal Badr, Samir Akram Attia, and Mohammed Adib Abu Homs.
The Commission stated that the barbaric campaign of arrests against Palestinians, accompanied by break in of houses and attacks, is part of the collective punishment to destroy the lives of the Palestinian people.
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The head of the Commission of Detainees' Affairs, Abu Baker, condemned the Israeli degradation in taking revenge of Palestinian detainees and harming them to satisfy the desires of racists in military and political organizations of the occupation.
The Major General Abu Baker clarified that the competition between Israeli parties depends on incitement against detainees. In addition, it depends on using the policy of collective punishment against detainees and their families.
Abu Baker warned of keeping this approach in dealing with detainees, and stated that this may lead to an unprecedented clash with the Captive Movement inside Israeli prisons
Abu Baker called on the international community and its organizations to take serious and practical steps to put an end to this attack against detainees, and force Israel to abide by the international charters and agreements and the principles of international law.
Abu Baker's statements came during the visit of released detainees from Bethlehem, including Yaser Dar'way who spent 13 years in jails, Jamal Hamamreh and Usama Taqatqa.
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The Commission of Detainees' Affairs condemned the ferocious attack against citizens of Jerusalem which increased lately day by day, in an attempt to force residents to leave the city.
Israeli occupation authorities deliberately wage a war against the people of the holy city at all levels, where detainees are targeted in issuing unjust sentences against them and imposing high fines.
A case in point is Sameeha Judeh from Jerusalem who was sentenced to 180 hours of public service, a fine of NIS 1500 and a suspended sentence of two months of imprisonment.
It is worth mentioning that Jude suffers from many health problems such as cancer, osteoporosis and bone cartilage.
The commission also stated that the occupation authorities are increasing the punitive measures against people of Jerusalem on a daily basis, such as daily arrests, withdrawing IDs, house demolishing and retaining martyrs' bodies.
The commission pointed out that the attack practiced by the Israeli government against the people of Jerusalem is a systematic collective punishment to break their will and steadfastness.
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The Commission of Detainees' Affairs stated in a report issued today that 6 detainees still on hunger strike protesting against the administrative detention, five of them are held in the so-called Al-Ramlah Hospital in the isolation section.
Detainees on hunger strike are: Ahmad Ghannam who conducted a strike for 64 days, Sultan Khlouf since 60 days, Ismail Ali since 54 days, Tareq Qa'dan since 47 days, Nasser Jada' since 40 days, Thaer Hamdan since 35 days.
The commission confirmed that they are suffering from serious health conditions after one month of the strike. They all have pain all over their bodies, weight loss, weak vision and they are unable to walk for long distance.
The commission pointed out that the administration of prisons still implementing punitive measures against them, represented in frequent transfer between prisons, holding them in solitary confinement which lacks the minimum elements of life, in addition to inspecting their cells.
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The Commission of Detainees' Affairs conveyed in a report the testimonies of 6 minor detainees distributed to different Israeli jails, in which they narrate the details of torture and intense beating during detention and interrogation.
A case in point is the minor detainee Aws Ewais, 16, who has been tortured after breaking in to his house at Jenin camp. Occupation forces deliberately broke into his house and terrified him with a dog. He was handcuffed, blindfolded and exposed to intense beating all the way. He has been held in hot weather after arriving at Jalamah chickpoint and then he was moved to minors' section at Megiddo prison.
Another case in point is the 17 year-old detainee Hamam Hussaini from Jerusalem. He is currently held in Damoun prison, where he was exposed to harsh interrogation in Maskoubia and Ashkelon detention centers. He was interrogated for long hours on a small chair and fainted due to torture and deprivation of sleep and food.
The 14 year old detainee Ma'roof Atrash was tortured by occupation soldiers after breaking into his house in Bethlehem. He got beaten, cursed and humiliated by soldiers during interrogating him in Itzion detention center and then he got moved to Ofer prison.
Moreover, the occupation soldiers attacked the 16-year-old detainee Mohammad Ateya from Essawyeh village in Jerusalem, in addition to the minors Ayman D'eais from Hebron and Ayman Badran from Qalandia camp.
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"I am the sick detainee Sami Abu Dyak
I appeal every conscientious to work for releasing me from the Israeli jails
I suffer from cancer, and I have a few days to live according to Israeli medical reports
I want to spend these days and die in my mother's lap, not in the cemetery of numbers
This appeal was a joint appeal with my companion of suffering in jail, the sick detainee Bassam Sayeh, before one day of his martyrdom
I will be with my brother Bassam Sayeh in the cemetery of numbers if you don’t respond to my appeal
I call on you from the so-called Al-Ramlah Hospital to let me spend my last hours and days with my mother, I don’t want to die handcuffed in a mean cell by a jailor who prefer death to us"
The sick detainee Sami Abu Dyak
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22 detainees at Remon prison start a hunger strike and the administration respond by isolation and break in
The Commission of Detainees' Affairs stated that 22 detainees at Remon prison started a hunger strike yesterday against the administration's disclaim on the agreement concluded last week to remove jamming devices from prison's sections.
The commission pointed out that after announcing the strike of the first group against jamming devices, the administration commanded the forces to break in section 1 and 4 and moved all detainees to the solitary confinement in Nafaha prison.
More than 200 detainees at Remon prison entered a hunger strike for one day, demanding to remove the jamming devices. After a discussion between the administration and detainees' representatives, an agreement concluded to suspend the strike in return of responding to detainees' demands. However, the administration still procrastinates in implementing the agreement.
The commission condemned the inflexibility of the prisons' administration in responding to the simplest life and human demands of detainees.
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The commission of Detainees' Affairs stated that the Israeli occupation authorities decided to hand over the body of the child martyr Naseem Abu Roumi, 14, from Ezaria\Jerusalem.
The Commission illustrated that the prosecution of occupation informed about its intention to hand over the martyr's body in two weeks.
It is worthy to mention that Abu Roumi died last August after getting shooting them by occupation forces near one of Al-Aqsa mosque gates
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The Commission of Detainees' Affairs reviewed in a report issued today the details of the brutal break in implemented at Jelboa prison last week.
According to detainees' testimonies, the prison witnessed a state of tension after breaking in the rooms of detainees under the pretext of making inspections, where they were attacked, humiliated and their belongings have been destroyed.
The report revealed the injury of five detainees: Yousef Nazzal, Omar Jundub, Tahseen Salameh, Ahmad Azzouni and Jehad Abu Zahra.
The commission stated that detainees announced the state of maximum alert after this attack. In response, the administration of prison imposed a series of punitive measures against detainees, where they closed many rooms and confiscated all electric devices.
The commission also confirmed that the tension prevails in prison and detainees complain about the destruction caused by the break in, and that the administration insists on keeping the jamming devices installed in prisons.
The commission pointed out that these incidents came as part of the clear systematic policy practiced by the administration of prison to disturb detainees and impose punishments against them. This is considered a flagrant violation of all international laws and standards, which expose the arbitrary practices against Palestinian detainees.
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Detainees' institutions and Human Rights Organizations (the Commission of Detainees and Ex-detainees' Affairs, the Palestinian Society Prisoner's Club, Al Dameer Association for Human Rights) pointed out that the occupation authorities arrested 162 citizens from Jerusalem, 82 from Ramallah, 50 from Hebron, 44 from Jenin, 30 from Bethlehem, 38 from Nablus, 13 from Tulkarem, 24 from Qalqilia, 6 from Tubas, 8 from Jericho and 7 from Gaza Strip.
The total number of detainees in Israeli jails reached up to 5700, including 38 women, 220 minors, 500 administrative detainees, while 76 new administrative detention sentences have been issued and renewed.
Women detainees… violations and increased suffering
Detainees' institutions pointed out that women detainees held in Israeli jails are exposed to many violations and breaches in treatment, going through detention, being held in interrogation centers, transportation, neglecting their health conditions, imposing high fines against them and holding them in bad detention conditions in a way that violate all international agreements and covenants.
The number of women detainees in Israeli jails reached to 38, they are held in Damoun prison in a section that contains 13 rooms, and each room accommodates from 4 to 8 detainees.
Detainees' institutions acknowledge that Damoun prison, which was a stable before, lacks the minimum elements of human life. Its ground is concrete, which is very cold in winter and very hot in summer. Most of rooms are poorly ventilated, full of insects and there are no chairs in the rooms and no blankets to sit down.
Women detainees suffer from procrastinating medical checkups which lead to a deterioration in their health conditions. A case in point is the wounded detainee Israa' Ja'abees from Jerusalem. Moreover, women detainees are prevented from attaining books and deprived of family visits.
Children confronting summon and suppression
Occupation authorities escalated in summoning minors through their parents to interrogate them since June 2019, in an attempt to target children to have information and spoil the relationship between them and their families.
At the beginning of August, occupation authorities summoned the family of the child Malak Sider, 8 years old from Hebron. In addition, they summoned many families of children from Jerusalem, including a child less than 5 years old.
In the context of violating the rights of the child, Palestinian children detainees in Megiddo and Ofer prisons are exposed to violent suppression. In August 14, 2019 Israeli forces broke in two sections of Ofer prison, in which minor detainees are held in. They handcuffed minors and isolated some of them after attacking them with beating and using pepper gas. They also broke in the section of minors in Megiddo prison which includes 63 minors after a clash between a child and a jailor. The administration of prison implemented many punitive measures, especially against the section of minors.
However, detainees' institutions affirm that the administration of prisons increased the violations through ferocious means against minors in 2019, without taking into consideration their privacy or special needs. These acts are considered a flagrant violation of international laws and conventions concerned with child protection.
The battle of administrative detention is constant… 8 detainees entered a hunger strike in August
8 detainees entered a hunger strike since August protesting against their administrative detention, where 500 detainees are held in Israeli prisons without any legal justification.
Detainees who entered the strike are Ahmad Ghannam, who conducted a strike for 58 days, Huthaifa Halabia since 67 days, Sultan Khlouf since 54 days, Ismail Ali from since days, Tareq Qa'dan since 41 days, Nasser Jada' since 34 days, Thaer Hamdan since 29 days, in addition to Fadi Hroub who ended his strike in September 5, 2019 after 23 days.
Huthaifa Halabia ended his strike due to his health condition and Ghannam is in a real danger
The detainee Huthaifa Halabia, from Abu Dees village, ended his hunger strike after 67 days. He entered a stage of real danger on his health, and he got moved to Kaplan Hospital due to his critical situation, which forced him to suspend his hunger strike to maintain his life.
Ahmad Ghannam became the oldest detainee in the strike with 58 days. It is worthy to mention that his health condition is in a continuous deterioration, especially that he had a cancer in the blood and had a surgery in 2000, but he still suffers from problems in the liver and blood platelets.
Many detainees ended their hunger strike after concluding an agreement that determining a specific period of their detention. A case in point is the detainee Mohammad Abu Aker who entered a strike for 36 days to determine his detention of four months, in addition to the detainee Mustafa Hasanat who entered a strike for 36 days to specify his period of detention to 6 months. Another case in point is the detainee Wajdi Awawdeh who entered a strike for 27 days in order to set him free in February 2020, the detainee Hmmam Abu Rahmah who entered a strike for 11 days, and the detainee Bassam Abu Aker who entered a strike for 5 days.
The administration of prisons still following systematic procedures against detainees on hunger strike to force them suspend their strike, represented in isolating them in cells, depriving them of family visits and frequent transportation from one prison to another.
In addition, jailors deliberately provoke detainees on hunger strike by eating in front of them and conduct daily inspections to practice pressure against them.