The Israeli human rights group B’Tselem has published a major new report documenting how the Israeli prison system has become “a network of torture camps,” where physical, psychological and sexual abuse of Palestinian prisoners is normalized and routine. The report, titled “Welcome to Hell,” collects the testimony of 55 Palestinians who were detained by Israeli authorities since October 7 and later released, almost all without charges. This comes as a group of U.N. experts condemned the widespread torture of Palestinians and as Israel’s Channel 12 News aired shocking footage of Israeli soldiers sexually abusing a prisoner at the Sde Teiman army base, where thousands of detainees from Gaza are held. Sarit Michaeli, the international advocacy lead for B’Tselem, says the abuse in Israeli prisons is “systemic, ongoing and state-sanctioned,” reflecting the cruelty and thirst for revenge among a growing number of Israelis. “They would like to have a completely open field in terms of what they can do to Palestinians,” says Michaeli.

The Israeli human rights group B’Tselem has published a major new report documenting how the Israeli prison system has become “a network of torture camps,” where physical, psychological and sexual abuse of Palestinian prisoners is normalized and routine.

The report, titled “Welcome to Hell,” collects the testimony of 55 Palestinians who were detained by Israeli authorities since October 7 and later released, almost all without charges. This comes as a group of U.N. experts condemned the widespread torture of Palestinians and as Israel’s Channel 12 News aired shocking footage of Israeli soldiers sexually abusing a prisoner at the Sde Teiman army base, where thousands of detainees from Gaza are held.

Sarit Michaeli, the international advocacy lead for B’Tselem, says the abuse in Israeli prisons is “systemic, ongoing and state-sanctioned,” reflecting the cruelty and thirst for revenge among a growing number of Israelis. “They would like to have a completely open field in terms of what they can do to Palestinians,” says Michaeli.

You can find the full report of testimonies here

    • ISOmorph@feddit.orgEnglish
      0·
      1 month ago

      Not only that. There are whole countries participating in that disgusting shit. UK and US stayed absent from the Nagasaki memorial event because Japan had the good sense of not inviting an apartheid dictatorship.

          • Deceptichum@quokk.auEnglish
            1·
            1 month ago

            They might be referring to the rather shitty treatment of the native Ainu peoples?

            While bad, I wouldn’t call it apartheid however.

          • Snowflake@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
            0·
            1 month ago

            Source 1 Source 2

            Apartheid is mostly a word used by antisemitics anyway in my opinion.

            As in people don’t care about any other apartheid states(there are many) they only care about Israel which is weird.

            • barsoap@lemm.eeEnglish
              0·
              1 month ago

              Yeah I don’t think posting an article of how Abe got slammed for the suggestion is the smoking gun evidence you think it is. Japan’s coming to terms with its past being – well let’s be blunt an call it an embarrassment – is tangential.

              Seriously I’m a bit confused. You’re accusing Japan of Apartheid and what you’re coming up are those two things, and not the de facto complete absence of a civic, as opposed to ethnic/cultural, national identity?

                • barsoap@lemm.eeEnglish
                  0·
                  1 month ago

                  You can get Japanese citizenship after five years of residency, somewhat surprisingly there’s not even a language test. And many many Zainichi did and do.

                  If that is Apartheid then I don’t want to know what you have to say about Estonia.

                  • Snowflake@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
                    0·
                    1 month ago

                    And many many Zainichi did and do.

                    Where’s the source. I’ve got one that says the opposite.

                    Current Discriminatory Practices

                    Nonetheless, despite significant progress, discriminatory practices persist in Japanese society. Naturalization remains the primary means of acquiring full citizenship rights, but the process is complex and discourages many. Nowadays, most Zainichi Koreans are descendants of the forced labourers in the 1920s, so they were born and raised in Japan and speak only Japanese, but they are not eligible for citizenship unless one of their parents is Japanese. Furthermore, as it is against the law in Japan to have two nationalities, for Zainichi Koreans to naturalize would require them to renounce their Korean identity entirely. As Chung put it, “Japanese nationality is closely associated with ethnocultural identity, naturalization applicants must not only renounce their allegiance to their country of origin but must also demonstrate evidence of cultural assimilation”. Moreover, if their ethnic roots were revealed, they would still be seen as outsiders in Japanese society, therefore naturalizing would not even address the underlying causes of prejudice.

                    Even though there is no fee to pay for naturalization, applicants frequently have to pay hefty attorney costs to prepare the numerous documents needed to authenticate their family histories.

                    Estonia

                    Apartheid too? I will say this, doubt you’ll see anyone who gives a single fuck.