UN rights expert: ‘Incarceration emergency’ resulted in mistreatment and alleged torture of Palestinians |

UN News: What kind of tortures and mistreatment of the detainees are you worried by? 

Alice Edwards: I just want to make sure that every time that we mention torture, we say torture and either mistreatment or torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment or punishment. The large majority of submissions I received are on the mistreatment side, potentially cumulatively rising to a level of torture. 

And there may as well be individual cases of torture, but I’m trying to put them all within the category of prohibited conduct because the cases are not quite clear cut. It’s part of the problem of a lack of transparency and access to places of detention, which I’m asking the Israelis to improve. 

I have no information about the numbers of people who are affected. I know the number of people who are detained is in the thousands. And that is one of my requests to the Israelis to be clear with me about the number of people, number of Palestinians in detention. 

UN News: Could you please specify what exactly those cases are? How many of those cases have been registered and through which ways? 

Alice Edwards: I’m not at liberty to disclose my sources. I have received a number of submissions from a number of actors, both Israeli and Palestinian, as well as having done my own research to substantiate and verify as best as possible that information by other sources, including United Nations sources.

In relation to the Palestinians from the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. The allegations of mistreatment include the allegations of prisoners being beaten, allegations of humiliating and degrading treatment, such as being spat at, blindfolded, stripped and kept naked for long periods of time. 

And in relation to the Palestinians from Gaza, there’s similar treatment, but in addition, also further reports of handcuffing causing wounds and friction injuries, and some cases of blunt force trauma caused by beatings with different objects. 

And then, what I distinguish, are the conditions of their detention, the overcrowding. That has occurred since 7 October because of the number of Palestinians being detained in what the government has called an ‘incarceration emergency’. It is leading to the prison service overcrowding, severe overcrowding, which is leading to problems of poor hygiene, excessive prisoners within cells and also therefore not being able to enjoy their rights within detention, including time for exercise outside, etcetera. 

UN News: What is your message to the Israeli authorities? 

Alice Edwards: Four things, really. I’ve asked them to undertake investigations into these reports. And that those investigations need to be prompt, impartial and transparent. 

I’m asking, as I mentioned, for clear information about those being held, the numbers and the locations, as well as some demographics such as age. I’m aware of some of children being detained. So, I want to a clear breakdown. 

The third thing I’ve asked for is access of international observers to be able to monitor conditions of detention. And the fourth, I’ve reiterated my request for a visit to Israel and the OPT in order to be able to verify and also make recommendations to improve the situation.