Occupied East Jerusalem – In early November, the Israeli authorities summoned Hashim Matar* to the police station in occupied East Jerusalem.
For 10 days, he was interrogated about whether or not he supported Hamas and was a member of the Palestinian group. Between questioning, Matar was locked in a small room with different detainees, the place they had been punched, kicked and overwhelmed with batons.
“Numerous folks had their [sternum] or heads damaged, usually gushing with blood,” Matar, a 54-year-old man with a brief gray beard and snort traces round his eyes, advised Al Jazeera three months after he was launched from detention.
“We weren’t even handled like animals. At the least animals are handled with some type of dignity.”
Israel has taken 1000’s of Palestinians captive since Hamas’s assault on Israel on October 7, through which 1,139 folks had been killed and about 250 kidnapped.
Since then, the variety of Palestinians arrested within the occupied West Financial institution exceeds 7,350 folks, in keeping with the Addameer monitor in Ramallah.
Whereas some Palestinians have been launched, 9,100 stay captive. That’s a pointy uptick from the 5,200 that had been in Israeli prisons earlier than October 7.
These figures don’t embody the 1000’s of adults and youngsters the Israeli military has reportedly detained, tortured and interrogated in makeshift prisons throughout Gaza, outdoors any authorized or civilian oversight.
Violence and neglect
Since October 7, Israeli authorities have change into extra violent throughout arrests, in keeping with a workers member of Addameer who spoke on situation of anonymity.
The person advised Al Jazeera that Israeli authorities usually storm properties within the West Financial institution and start to kick, punch and beat everybody inside. In some instances, Israeli troopers take members of the family “hostage” by threatening to whisk them away, until the needed particular person comes ahead.
As soon as in custody, Palestinians are shoved into autos and overwhelmed till they arrive on the detention facility. That’s the place they’re advised to strip, dress and to strip once more – a cycle that happens a number of instances whereas they’re overwhelmed, typically on their genitalia.
Captives are subjected to even worse remedy behind bars. Addameer mentioned water or electrical energy is reduce off and captives are denied visits from their kinfolk or the Pink Cross. The rights group added that almost all victims are denied healthcare, even for accidents sustained throughout their arrest. Consequently, prisoners have died resulting from well being neglect.
“To date, 10 prisoners from the West Financial institution [have died]. That is the best determine ever in such a brief interval,” the Addameer workers member advised Al Jazeera.
Matar was afraid he would possibly fall in poor health throughout his time in jail. He described how Israeli guards would flip the lights off throughout the day so captives languished in the dead of night and flood the cells with gentle at night time to maintain prisoners awake as they lay on the chilly flooring.
Nonetheless, being overwhelmed was the worst a part of detention, Matar mentioned.
“I’d ask them: ‘Why are you beating us? What did we do to you so that you can beat us?’”
Administrative detention
Israel has additionally weaponised quasi-judicial measures to arrest 1000’s of Palestinians with out cost. Of all Palestinians detained since October 7, about 3,050 are held in “administrative detention”, an emergency measure that Israel inherited from the colonial British Mandate for Palestine.
Beneath administrative detention, prisoners are held indefinitely and given no details about the fees in opposition to them or the ostensible proof incriminating them.
In lots of instances, Israeli authorities don’t inform Palestinian households of the whereabouts of their detained family members – which quantities to an enforced disappearance, a violation of worldwide regulation.
“Israel’s sweeping use of administrative detention will not be lawful,” mentioned Omar Shakir, the Israel-Palestine director at Human Rights Watch.
“However these practices don’t simply date again years, however a long time they usually have solely escalated since October 7.”
The Addameer workers member added that amongst 200 Palestinian kids languishing in Israeli prisons, 40 are held underneath administrative detention, and captives affected by extreme or terminal sicknesses are denied seeing household and have little hope of being launched.
On the finish of February, the Addameer staffer mentioned, one most cancers affected person died in an Israeli jail on the age of 23.
“He simply collapsed. He died after 5 months of not with the ability to see his household,” they advised Al Jazeera.
“That is merciless collective punishment. Simply think about [this person’s family] who misplaced their beloved. They weren’t even in a position to be with him in his final moments.”
Makeshift prisons
Along with the sweeping arrests within the West Financial institution, the Israeli military has arrested 1000’s of Palestinians from Gaza since launching its devastating warfare on the enclave.
During the last 5 months, Israel has killed greater than 31,000 Palestinians and displaced practically all the inhabitants of two.3 million folks in Gaza. Many have additionally gone lacking, elevating fears that they’re both buried underneath the rubble or languishing within the labyrinth of makeshift Israeli prisons in Gaza.
Ibrahim Yacoub*, 29, was arrested by Israeli troopers in northern Gaza on November 21. He mentioned his palms had been tied behind his again and he was pressured to stroll to an Israeli detention spot in a gaggle of 80 captives.
“Any time one in all us stumbled, a soldier would hit us on high of the top,” he advised Al Jazeera. “I saved dreading after they had been going to hit me subsequent.”
Yacoub was finally taken to what gave the impression to be an empty warehouse, the place Israeli troopers interrogated him, repeatedly asking about Hamas’s operations and his function within the group.
“I saved telling them that I’m not a fighter. I’m a civilian,” Yacoub mentioned over the cellphone, weeks after his launch.
Throughout his 53 days in captivity, Yacoub was moved to 2 different places, the place he was mistreated, bitten by assault canine and virtually starved. Nonetheless, he was not among the many 1,073 Palestinians transferred to Israel from Gaza, as documented by Addameer.
Regardless of being launched, Yacoub will not be free.
He’s now in Rafah, a small city by the Egyptian border that’s harbouring greater than 1,000,000 Palestinians displaced inside Gaza. For weeks, Israel has threatened to launch a full-scale offensive in town, a transfer that will compound Gaza’s devastating humanitarian disaster.
Like so many Palestinians, Yacoub doesn’t have the means or freedom to flee. However neither can he think about constructing a brand new life in Gaza from scratch.
“All the things I knew is gone … my condominium and my workplace,” he advised Al Jazeera. “My whole life and future is up in flames.”
* Names have been modified or withheld to guard sources from reprisal.