Life Behind Bars in Israel
By Crystal Robert
Palestinian and Arab prisoners serving high sentences are held at this facility, along with detainees awaiting trial. Ashkelon Central Prison is located South of Tel Aviv; the facility is set up with an interrogation section and a solitary confinement wing.
During the first intifada (1987-1994), Israel arrested some 175,000 Palestinians. Our brother, Qandeel Kamel IIwan died on February 24th, 1988, from medical negligence…
According to the Israeli Human Rights Organization B’tselem, as much as 85% of Palestinian prisoners have been tortured during investigation. Almost all detainees are subjected to some form of torture or mistreatment. Common methods include: severe beatings, punching and kicking; being handcuffed for long periods of time in contorted positions, for example to a small chair or a pipe hanging from the ceiling; exposure to very loud music, sounds, or screaming; sleep deprivation; denial of food, water, and use of toilet; psychological threats and pressure to collaborate; hooded with a heavy, dirty sack sometimes soaked in urine and smeared in faeces; sexual abuse or threat of sexual abuse; solitary confinement; denial of medical treatment for injuries received during arrest, such as bullet wounds.
There are 24 detention centers for holding Palestinians: 14 prisons and military camps, 5 detention and holding facilities, and 5 interrogation centers. 19 of these facilities are outside of the Gaza Strip and of the West Bank. This means that the prisoners are illegally transferred, outside of the Occupied Territories, in violation of the 4th Geneva Convention.
Many detainees are held for years without ever facing charge or trial. All detention centers are extremely crowded. Detainees often sleep on wooden planks covered with thin mattresses. The blankets are often torn, filthy, and insufficient for the amount of detainees. The food is not only inadequate, but also insufficient for the number of detainees. Because access to toilets is restricted, prisoners are often forced to urinate in bottles inside their cells.
Poor sanitary conditions are notorious within Israeli prisons. Even denial of adequate medical treatment is used to pressure detainees into collaboration!
In a series of 60 interviews with ex-detainees from the Bethlehem area in 1994, 90% of the interviewed people claimed that the administration uses the denial of medical treatment to recruit collaborators. Given these statistics, I wonder if Qandeel died because of medical negligence and why? Was he refusing to “collaborate”? I am still working on finding his file, somewhere. He died exactly 20 years ago and it is difficult to find any data before 1989.
A former prisoner said that detainees were so well aware that Israeli prison hospitals use the threat of withholding treatment to force detainees, that they are reluctant to sick treatment for fear of being a suspected collaborator.
We can safely say that Israeli prisons are essentially political prisons. Their population consists mostly of Palestinians who are suspected, accused, and occasionally (though through coerced confessions) “convicted”. Convictions range from carrying out, abetting, or planning acts of resistance whether peaceful or armed. The number of prisoners in maximum security prisons serving long sentences is about 3,000. 40 police outposts in the Occupied Territories are used to detain, interrogate, and torture subjects. Military installations throughout the country also serve as interrogation and torture centers.
Prisoners are often being denied visitation rights, and the administration doesn’t provide any explanations for these illegal acts. Some detainees spend 5 years or even more in solitary confinement. During this time, they are repeatedly transferred from one detention facility to another. Again, no explanation is being given from the administration. There are times when isolated prisoners are not even allowed to communicate with other detainee. They are repeatedly attacked and violated by the soldiers. All these procedures are in direct violation to the 4th Geneva Convention, the international law, and to basic principles of human rights.
The food given to detainees is bad and insufficient, forcing the detainees to buy their own food from the prison canteen, sold at an outrageous price. Knowing all this, it is easy to conclude that harsh living conditions, abuse, deprivation from basic human rights, solitary confinement for extended periods constitute the life of Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons.The Detainees Media Office started a campaign. Several institutions and parties were contacted in order to arrange protests against the violations. Several human right groups were also contacted and asked to pressure the Israeli Prison Authorities to improve the conditions of the detainees and provide them with basic human rights guaranteed by the 4ht Geneva Convention and by in
During the first intifada (1987-1994), Israel arrested some 175,000 Palestinians. Our brother, Qandeel Kamel IIwan died on February 24th, 1988, from medical negligence…
According to the Israeli Human Rights Organization B’tselem, as much as 85% of Palestinian prisoners have been tortured during investigation. Almost all detainees are subjected to some form of torture or mistreatment. Common methods include: severe beatings, punching and kicking; being handcuffed for long periods of time in contorted positions, for example to a small chair or a pipe hanging from the ceiling; exposure to very loud music, sounds, or screaming; sleep deprivation; denial of food, water, and use of toilet; psychological threats and pressure to collaborate; hooded with a heavy, dirty sack sometimes soaked in urine and smeared in faeces; sexual abuse or threat of sexual abuse; solitary confinement; denial of medical treatment for injuries received during arrest, such as bullet wounds.
There are 24 detention centers for holding Palestinians: 14 prisons and military camps, 5 detention and holding facilities, and 5 interrogation centers. 19 of these facilities are outside of the Gaza Strip and of the West Bank. This means that the prisoners are illegally transferred, outside of the Occupied Territories, in violation of the 4th Geneva Convention.
Many detainees are held for years without ever facing charge or trial. All detention centers are extremely crowded. Detainees often sleep on wooden planks covered with thin mattresses. The blankets are often torn, filthy, and insufficient for the amount of detainees. The food is not only inadequate, but also insufficient for the number of detainees. Because access to toilets is restricted, prisoners are often forced to urinate in bottles inside their cells.
Poor sanitary conditions are notorious within Israeli prisons. Even denial of adequate medical treatment is used to pressure detainees into collaboration!
In a series of 60 interviews with ex-detainees from the Bethlehem area in 1994, 90% of the interviewed people claimed that the administration uses the denial of medical treatment to recruit collaborators. Given these statistics, I wonder if Qandeel died because of medical negligence and why? Was he refusing to “collaborate”? I am still working on finding his file, somewhere. He died exactly 20 years ago and it is difficult to find any data before 1989.
A former prisoner said that detainees were so well aware that Israeli prison hospitals use the threat of withholding treatment to force detainees, that they are reluctant to sick treatment for fear of being a suspected collaborator.
We can safely say that Israeli prisons are essentially political prisons. Their population consists mostly of Palestinians who are suspected, accused, and occasionally (though through coerced confessions) “convicted”. Convictions range from carrying out, abetting, or planning acts of resistance whether peaceful or armed. The number of prisoners in maximum security prisons serving long sentences is about 3,000. 40 police outposts in the Occupied Territories are used to detain, interrogate, and torture subjects. Military installations throughout the country also serve as interrogation and torture centers.
Prisoners are often being denied visitation rights, and the administration doesn’t provide any explanations for these illegal acts. Some detainees spend 5 years or even more in solitary confinement. During this time, they are repeatedly transferred from one detention facility to another. Again, no explanation is being given from the administration. There are times when isolated prisoners are not even allowed to communicate with other detainee. They are repeatedly attacked and violated by the soldiers. All these procedures are in direct violation to the 4th Geneva Convention, the international law, and to basic principles of human rights.
The food given to detainees is bad and insufficient, forcing the detainees to buy their own food from the prison canteen, sold at an outrageous price. Knowing all this, it is easy to conclude that harsh living conditions, abuse, deprivation from basic human rights, solitary confinement for extended periods constitute the life of Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons.The Detainees Media Office started a campaign. Several institutions and parties were contacted in order to arrange protests against the violations. Several human right groups were also contacted and asked to pressure the Israeli Prison Authorities to improve the conditions of the detainees and provide them with basic human rights guaranteed by the 4ht Geneva Convention and by in
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