By Our Correspondent
National News – A UN expert has accused Israel of systematically torturing Palestinians in detention, describing practices that indicate “collective vengeance and destructive intent.”
Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on Palestinian rights, said Palestinians arrested since Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attacks have suffered severe physical and psychological abuse.
Her report, entitled Torture and Genocide, highlights widespread beatings, sexual violence, starvation, and inhumane treatment causing lasting trauma to tens of thousands of detainees.
Albanese stressed that Israel’s detention system has become a “regime of coercion, humiliation, and terror,” with over 18,500 Palestinians arrested, including at least 1,500 children.
More than 9,000 remain in custody, and around 4,000 have experienced enforced disappearance.
While condemning abuses by all parties, the report specifically focuses on Israeli practices, warning that torture has been used as punitive collective punishment, escalating human suffering across the occupied territories.
Albanese urged immediate international intervention and called on the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants for top Israeli officials, including the Defense and Finance Ministers.
The report is based on over 300 testimonies and written submissions documenting patterns of abuse.
Albanese emphasized that every delay in action “worsens irreversible harm and entrenches systemic cruelty.”
Israel, a signatory to the UN Convention Against Torture, has previously rejected Albanese’s claims, describing her as motivated by a “hate-driven agenda” against the state.
France and Germany recently requested her resignation, citing alleged misrepresentation of her statements.
Albanese, however, defended her findings as based on documented evidence and independent investigation.
This UN report brings renewed international attention to the human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, highlighting the urgent need for accountability and protection of civilian lives amidst ongoing conflict.
