UN expert condemns alleged sexual assault of Palestinian in Israeli custody

Soldiers have been accused of sexually abusing a member of an elite Hamas unit at the Sde Teiman detention facility in the Negev desert in southern Israel.

Soldiers lock a gate from the inside at Sde Teiman detention facility, after Israeli military police arrived at the site as part of an investigation into the suspected abuse of a Palestinian detainee, near Beersheba, in southern Israel, July 29, 2024. (photo credit: AMIR COHEN/REUTERS)
Soldiers lock a gate from the inside at Sde Teiman detention facility, after Israeli military police arrived at the site as part of an investigation into the suspected abuse of a Palestinian detainee, near Beersheba, in southern Israel, July 29, 2024.
(photo credit: AMIR COHEN/REUTERS)

The UN special rapporteur on torture on Friday condemned what she called a "particularly gruesome" case of the alleged sexual abuse of a Palestinian prisoner by Israeli soldiers and said the perpetrators of such crimes must be held accountable.

"There are no circumstances in which sexual torture or sexualised inhuman and degrading treatment can be justified," Special Rapporteur Alice Jill Edwards said in a statement.

On Tuesday, the Israeli military said prosecutors have requested that soldiers accused of abusing a Palestinian detainee be placed under house arrest.

Investigating the alleged Sde Teiman incident

Israeli media reports said the soldiers have been accused of sexually abusing a member of an elite Hamas unit at the Sde Teiman detention facility in the Negev desert in southern Israel.

"This alleged sexual torture involving multiple offenders is particularly gruesome," Edwards said, adding that Israeli authorities had informed her that several soldiers suspected of involvement were under investigation.

 Demonstrates protest against the detention of Israeli reserve soldiers suspected of assaulting a Hamas terrorist, at the Sde Teiman military base near Beersheba, July 29, 2024. (credit: DUDU GREENSPAN/FLASH90)
Demonstrates protest against the detention of Israeli reserve soldiers suspected of assaulting a Hamas terrorist, at the Sde Teiman military base near Beersheba, July 29, 2024. (credit: DUDU GREENSPAN/FLASH90)

All alleged crimes must be investigated and those responsible held accountable by civilian courts, she said.

The Israeli foreign ministry had no immediate comment on the matter when contacted by Reuters.

The United Nations has received multiple reports of alleged torture against Palestinians detained since Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led terrorists stormed Israel in a shock assault that killed some 1,200 people.

Israel has also detained thousands of Palestinians, according to the United Nations statement.

Hamas reiterated its call for international judicial bodies to investigate all cases of gross violations against Palestinian prisoners.


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Israeli rights group B'Tselem said in a report Israel has conducted a systematic policy of prisoner abuse and torture since the Gaza war erupted, subjecting Palestinian detainees to acts ranging from arbitrary violence to sexual abuse.