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Photos:
A protest outside Israel's Sde Teiman detention facility, last month. Credit: Eliyahu Hershkovitz. Published by Haaretz

Israel's Ofer Prison in the West Bank. Credit: Ammar Awad / Reuters. Published by Haaretz

Detainees. Published by IMEMC News
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The detainees were on their way to the Sde Teiman detention facility, where the majority of. While several soldiers were questioned about the incident, no one has been arrested on suspicion of causing their deaths

by Bar Peleg and Josh Breiner for Haaretz
May 28, 2024 8:26 am IDT

An Israeli Military Police investigation found that two detainees who were taken from Gaza to the Sde Teiman detention facility in Israel were beaten and later died, say two sources who spoke with Haaretz.

The two detainees, who were arrested by IDF soldiers in March in the Khan Yunis area on suspicion of being terrorists, were alive and bound with a strap when they were put on a truck. They were found dead when they arrived at Sde Teiman, a temporary detention facility near Be'er Sheva, operated by the army.

The investigation's findings contradicts the soldiers' claim that the two might have died as a result of the extremely bumpy ride over rough terrain. The soldiers are suspected of beating the detainees in multiple body parts, and the evidence suggests that one of them sustained head injury. The army will determine how to proceed with the investigation once an autopsy has been conducted.

The Military Police Criminal Investigation Division is investigating the incident, which was first reported by the Kan Public Broadcaster last month. Several soldiers have been questioned under caution, but no one was arrested on suspicion of causing the death of the two men, as in 33 other deaths of residents of the Gaza Strip who were arrested during the war and brought to Israel.

The Military Police is investigating in recent months the deaths of 35 Gazan detainees have died in Israeli detention facilities or while being detained by the army. Military Police investigations were opened into all of the incidents, but no soldiers have been arrested in any of the cases. These cases account for half of the investigations opened by the Military Police relating to offenses allegedly committed during the war.

Sources in the army say that two other detainees who were held by the army died suddenly as a result of neglect or inadequate medical treatment and died from diseases and infections that spread in the facility.

The conditions in which the detainees are kept at Sde Teiman, which were reported by Haaretz and the world press is an issue slated to be discussed by Israel's High Court of Justice next week.

The state has recently begun staffing the facility with reservist women guards who do not have combat training, and with women soldiers from the Education and Combat Support units, and there have been complaints about being sexually harassed by the prisoners.

The army would like Sde Teiman to continue to serve as a temporary detention facility where suspects are held until there is a decision on whether or not to transfer them to military prisons run by the Israel Prison Service.

Last week, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture issued a statement calling on Israel to investigate serious allegations of torture and abuse in the military prisons and detention facilities. Her position was made public following an inquiry from the Committee Against Torture in Israel and other human rights organizations.

A medical source told Haaretz that the health situation in Sde Teiman is dire. "It's an incubator of diseases," one source said, noting that at least two of the prisoners died from diseases and infections that developed there, as well as from a suspected lack of medical care.

Another source who spoke with Haaretz expressed surprise about the cases of "sudden death" that are harder to explain. "It's another world, a black hole," the source said.

In another case, which happened in the Israel Prisons Service's Ofer Prison, an inmate died in the service's clinic. Izz a-Din Al-Bana, 40, a wheelchair-bound patient who was arrested in Gaza died "suddenly," according to a source familiar with the details of his case.

The source expressed surprise how a man who lived 18 years with a disability died suddenly and wondered what caused his condition to deteriorate. The source said he thought his death resulted from a lack of medical care. According to a lawyer who visited the facility, prisoners there told him that Al-Bana was paraplegic and had severe pressure sores. One of the prisoners told the lawyer that Al-Bana had looked yellow and sounded like he was dying but received no care.

The IDF said in response: "The IDF operates according to the law and within the framework of Israeli and international law when it comes to the treatment of detainees. Following the death of the two detainees [on their way to Sde Teiman] the Military Police opened an investigation. Naturally, it is not possible to give details about an investigation that is still underway."

The IDF and the Israel Prison Service referred to each other for response to an inquiry about the death of Al-Bana in Ofer prison, and did not address the substance of the allegations.
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Two Gaza Detainees Beaten To Death In March – Report

by IMEMC News
May 29, 2024

On Tuesday, Israeli daily “Haaretz” reported that the Israeli military police revealed that the deaths of two Palestinians from the Gaza Strip in March were a result of Israeli soldiers beating them after their abduction.

The two Palestinians were taken to the Sde Teman detention facility near Beersheba (Be’er As-Sabe’), contrary to the soldiers’ claims that the deaths were due to road conditions.

According to Haaretz, the Israeli army detained the two Palestinians on suspicion of being with the Palestinian resistance.

The detainees were handcuffed and transported alive in a truck from the Khan Younis area in southern Gaza to the Israeli detention facility. However, upon arrival, it was allegedly discovered that they had died.

The military police said it gathered evidence contradicting the soldiers’ claims that the victims were injured during transportation and stated that there are suspicions that they were physically assaulted in multiple areas of their bodies, with one sustaining a head injury.

The police probe has involved questioning several soldiers, although no arrests have been made, unlike in 33 other cases where residents of Gaza died after being arrested and transferred to Israel during the war, according to the report.

The military police stated that they are awaiting the autopsy report on the victims’ bodies before determining the next steps in the investigation.

Amidst international criticism of Israel for failing to hold its soldiers accountable for War Crimes in Gaza, the military police claimed they have been investigating 35 cases of Palestinian deaths following arrests in the Strip.

The Israeli military prosecutor, Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, mentioned that the Israeli army is “conducting a total of 70 investigations.”

Haaretz reported that, aside from the two Palestinians who were killed on their way to the Sde Teman detention facility, there are suspicions that two other Palestinians died after being abducted due to health conditions that worsened while in detention.

Since October 7, 2023, the Israeli occupation army has transferred approximately 2000 Palestinian detainees from the Gaza Strip to the Sde Teman base, which has been converted into a detention facility lacking proper conditions for detention, and medical treatment.

Haaretz mentioned that the Israeli Supreme Court is set to review petitions next week regarding the inhumane detention conditions at Sde Teman, where detainees are kept in cages, blindfolded, and handcuffed at all times.

An Israeli medical source who visited the detention facility described the health situation there as extremely disastrous, with very difficult conditions conducive to the spread of diseases.

The United Nations has urged Israel to investigate serious allegations of torture and severe mistreatment of detainees in detention facilities and prisons, following reports from the Israeli human rights organization, The Committee Against Torture in Israel.

Another medical source reported witnessing several cases of “sudden death” among Palestinians in Israeli prisons and detention facilities, with no clear explanation for these incidents.

One of the deceased was Ezzeddin al-Banna, a 40-year-old man from Gaza who was abducted last February and was using a wheelchair before his death at the Ofer detention center.

The medical expert expressed astonishment at the rapid deterioration of Al-Banna’s health condition after reviewing the autopsy report, despite living with a disability for 18 years, without receiving adequate care.

Since October 7, a series of violations against the detainees, including torture, and medical malpractices have resulted in the deaths of 18 detainees, whose identities have been disclosed by the Prisoners and Ex-Detainees’ Affairs Authority and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS).

The occupation authorities continue the practice of “enforced disappearance” against Gaza detainees.

Despite efforts by prisoners’ organizations and human rights groups, the exact number of those detained in Gaza remains unknown, estimated to be in the thousands.

The Israeli occupation authorities have consistently refused to provide information on the detainees’ exact number, their whereabouts and health status.

Legal teams are still denied access to Gaza detainees for visits or communication, leaving institutions with limited information obtained from released prisoners.

The testimonies of former Gaza detainees, along with visible signs of torture on their bodies, highlight the extent of the crimes and brutality committed by the occupation forces.

Some detainees have lost their lives due to torture and medical negligence, with their identities and the conditions of their detention still undisclosed by the occupation authorities.

Reports have even surfaced indicating the execution of detainees and the amputation of limbs of sick and injured prisoners in a facility linked to the Sde Teman camp.

Gaza detainees were subjected to all different forms of torture, and continuous restrictions over time, in addition to the policy of starvation, detention in conditions degrading human dignity, continuous humiliation and attacks, threats of death, in addition to sexual assaults, and the policy of stripping male and female detainees of their clothes.

At the beginning of last April, the Israeli Prisons Administration announced the detention of 849 detainees whom it classified as “unlawful combatants.” This figure does not include Gaza detainees held in camps.

In addition to this figure, there are (24) children from Gaza in “Megiddo” prison and a group of female detainees in “Damoun” prison, these data also do not include all children or women abducted by the army from Gaza.