Israeli Guantanamo

Listen to the article, the audio text is generated by an automated system.

The rates of assaults on Palestinian cities in the West Bank have reached their highest level since 1967. In the details of the assaults, which have become almost daily, there is an increase in the number of detainees and the abuse they face in Israeli prisons.

It does not seem that allowing the International Red Cross to finally visit Palestinian prisoners will change anything in this regard.

Palestinian prisoners are subjected to forms of physical and psychological torture in Israeli prisons, especially in Ofer Prison located near Jerusalem.

About two years ago, the Israeli newspaper 'Haaretz' compared Ofer Prison to the infamous Guantanamo prison. This is a notorious American military prison established in early 2002 within a U.S. military base in Guantanamo Bay, aimed at detaining those alleged to be suspects in terrorism cases.

It was established away from American soil so that U.S. laws would not apply, depriving detainees of their legal and human rights. The George W. Bush administration did not hide the reality of this prison at the time.

Its president issued a presidential memorandum in February 2002 stating that the detainees there are not subject to U.S. laws or the Geneva Conventions. His administration ignored a decision issued by the U.S. Supreme Court in June 2002 that allowed detainees at Guantanamo to challenge their detention in a U.S. federal court.

Importantly, Israeli journalists (Gideon Levy and Alex Leibal) obtained details about the treatment of Palestinian prisoners in Ofer prison, and wrote about two years ago that it resembles what happened in Guantanamo. The journalists relied on testimonies from several recently released prisoners at that time.

They documented methods of torture that include beating, prolonged shackling, stripping, exposure to cold, inedible food, and sleeping on the ground.

This was more than two years ago, before the severe Israeli escalation in the West Bank began, so we can imagine now the extent of the torture of Palestinian prisoners not only in Ofer prison but in various Israeli prisons.