OMCT Urges UN Anti-Torture Committee to Address the Systematic Use of Torture against Palestinians

This review could not come at a more critical moment, noted the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT). "Israel's systematic use of torture and other ill-treatment against Palestinians has reached an unprecedented level. The Committee Against Torture must send a clear message that torture must never be acceptable and that the Convention makes clear that torture constitutes a crime under the Convention."

The OMCT notes that "the practice of torture is not a mere bystander in the broader abuse we witnessed in Gaza, but an inherent part of a process intended to dehumanise and collectively punish."

The multiple reports submitted for this review, which mirror previous authoritative documentation by the United Nations, Israeli and Palestinian organisations are painting a picture of systematic abuse and the denial of human dignity since the start of the war.

Torture and other ill-treatment are part of the dehumanisation at the core of the genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Since 7 October 2023, Israel has killed or injured more than 10 percent of Gaza's population, following continuous military attacks across the entire strip. The inability to flee or seek shelter, the constant threat of lethal force, and systematic deprivation of life-essential resources constitute a deliberate infliction of severe suffering in violation of the absolute prohibition of torture and other ill-treatment.

The documentation submitted to the Committee Against Torture shows that dozens of testimonies have been collected from individuals detained during the ground invasion of Gaza. Detainees, including children, elders, doctors, medical and humanitarian personnel are subjected to enforced disappearances. They are held for prolonged periods as "unlawful combatants", denied access to lawyers for up to 75 days, kept in incommunicado detention, and cut off from any contact with family members and relief organisations. Released detainees report a routine and widely implemented policy of torture from the moment of apprehension, during which they are stripped of the most basic rights and safeguards. Torture methods include blindfolding, shackling, severe beatings, prolonged stress positions, extreme temperatures, deprivation of food, water, sleep, and medical care, threats to detainees and their families, sexual violence, attacks by dogs, violent raids, and frequent transfers.

Palestinians in Israeli custody face abhorrent conditions, marked by physical and psychological abuse and the denial of basic human rights and dignity. Since 7 October 2023 alone, at least 78 Palestinians, including one child, have died while in Israeli custody, either under torture or as a result of torture. The majority of those who died in custody were taken from Gaza, though they also include Palestinians holding Israeli citizenship and Palestinians from the West Bank.

In the occupied West Bank, State-backed settler violence, house demolitions, gunfire, threats, arrests, and arbitrary detention inflict severe psychological harm. Civilians, including children, have been illegally used as human shields and subjected to attacks by police dogs. Many of these operations involve arbitrary arrests and treatment prohibited under the Convention. Since October 2023, the number of administrative detainees has tripled, reaching the highest levels in nearly three decades.

Torture is entrenched as an instrument of punishment and dehumanisation, encouraged at senior political levels. The Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, has delivered multiple statements in which he publicly condones and encourages dehumanizing practices. Among those, he declared, "In my opinion, Palestinian prisoners must be killed by shooting them in the head, and until passing this law, we will give them little to live on." (24 April 2024).

The submissions to the Committee Against Torture, including those from members of the SOS-Torture Network, highlight Israel's total lack of accountability, as well as the systematic denial of redress and rehabilitation to victims. It is essential now for the Committee to recognise that every victim of torture has the right to be acknowledged, and that urgent efforts are needed to ensure access to basic services and rehabilitation to prevent further trauma.

This review also comes at a time when all of the main Palestinian human rights organisations have been subjected to sanctions by the U.S. government, which have effectively hindered their ability to document grave human rights violations, including torture, support victims and survivors, and engage with international bodies, notably the Committee Against Torture. The Committee must ensure that all voices on torture are heard and give a strong signal that documenting torture is a legitimate activity at all times.

The OMCT calls on the Committee to urge Israel to: end actions in Gaza that amount to genocide and create a torturing environment; immediately cease all policies encouraging and enabling torture, ill-treatment, arbitrary detention, and enforced disappearance of Palestinians; end administrative detention; grant unrestricted access for the ICRC and other independent monitors, including civil society organisations; and establish a transparent register of all Palestinian prisoners and detainees, including those in military custody, ensuring their identity, location, and legal status are promptly communicated to families and legal representatives.

The OMCT further calls on Israel to fully cooperate with the Committee Against Torture and implement its forthcoming recommendations without delay.