At least 90 Palestinian detainees have died in Israeli custody since 7 October 2023. [Getty]
The UN human rights office on Saturday called for independent investigations into allegations of widespread torture and abuse of Palestinian detainees in Israeli detention.
In a statement, spokesperson Thameen al-Kheetan said torture and abuse are being carried out systematically against Palestinian prisoners, according to Palestinian news agency WAFA.
Al-Kheetan specified the abuse includes rape and gender based violence, and called for accountability and pressure on Israel to abide by international human rights laws.
The office has documented the deaths of at least 90 Palestinian detainees in Israeli custody since 7 October 2023, including a teenager who had reportedly shown signs of severe malnutrition.
Al-Kheetan said that Israeli authorities had announced the deaths of other detainees but had failed to provide information about their identities or the circumstances surrounding their deaths.
This is the latest intervention by a UN body in Israel’s brutal treatment of Palestinian detainees.
The Committee against Torture in November accused the country of operating a “de facto state policy of organised and widespread torture and ill-treatment” and called on Israel to set up an independent inquiry.
Global condemnation of the abuses has grown this month after the New York Times interviewed more than a dozen detainees who said they suffered sexual abuse at the hands of Israeli prison guards. The Israeli government has threatened to sue the newspaper over what it claimed was a “blood libel” against Jews.
