@middleeasteye: “It’s been just over 20 years since CBS News published the sobering photographs that proved the US army was carrying out unspeakable crimes against Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison. Rape. Degradation. Homicide. Torture, both psychological and physical. Sexual humiliation. The revelations of US barbarity were greeted with horror around the world and played a major role in turning opinion against the Iraq War. In recent days, it has become all too clear that something comparable to Abu Ghraib - and very possibly worse - has been taking place in Israeli prisons since 7 October when the war on Gaza broke out. This week, appalling leaked video footage captured Israeli soldiers sexually assaulting a Palestinian detainee, just as a report from the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem highlighted the state’s policy of systematic prisoner abuse and torture since the start of the war. The report, based on interviews with 55 Palestinians detained since the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October, is distressing to read. It provides evidence of degrading treatment, arbitrary beatings and sleep deprivation, as well as the ‘repeated use of sexual violence, in varying degrees of severity’. B’Tselem headlined its report: ‘Welcome to hell.’ While Israeli authorities have denied such accounts, the analysis comes just days after nine soldiers were arrested in relation to the rape of a Palestinian prisoner at the notorious Sde Teiman detention facility. The victim reportedly suffered a severe injury to his anus, a ruptured bowel, lung damage, and broken ribs. In addition, last month the Un Human Rights office published a report that found shocking abuses in Israeli military facilities and prisons, where at least 53 Palestinians have died since 7 October. How have western politicians remained silent on these horrors? Where is the mass public outrage? It seems Israeli leaders have been successful in their campaign to normalise rape and other abuses against Palestinian prisoners.” ✍️ MEE/Lubna Masarwa, Peter Oborne* *The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of MEE

Middle East Eye

Open In TikTok:

Region: GB

Friday 09 August 2024 19:40:25 GMT