Since the start of the war in Gaza, these images have constantly returned: Gazans arrested by the Israeli army, naked, blindfolded, kneeling and with their hands tied behind their backs. Accused of belonging to Hamas, they were notably imprisoned at Sdé Teiman, an Israeli army base in the desert. An Israeli doctor, a whistleblower who worked there, denounces inhumane treatment inflicted on Gazan detainees.
2 mins
With our correspondent in Jerusalem, Sami Boukhelifa
He is an Israeli surgeon and testifies anonymously. At the request of the Israeli army, he went to the Israeli military base of Sde Teiman. Its mission: to operate a Gazan detainee wounded by gunshot. “ The patients do not have names. They are all tied to their beds. They can’t move. They are blindfolded. They are naked. They wear diapers. This is a clear violation of the Geneva Convention and the code of ethics of the World Health Organization. It’s much more than physical and psychological torture », he relates.
If he speaks, “ it is to put end to this ordeal “, he said. “ I want Sdé Teiman to be closed. Prisoners are not treated like human beings “.
“ A policy of enforced disappearance »
“ In Sdé Teiman, we were tortured then treated only to keep us alive in order to question us “, confides to RFI a former inmatereleased and returned to Gaza.
Physicians for Human Rights Israel continues to warn about their situation. Naji Abbas works for this NGO which has filed several appeals to close this military prison before the Israeli Supreme Court, in vain for the moment. “ At Guantanamo, in 20 years, 20 people have lost their lives. But there, in six months, we are talking about 40 deaths. Maybe it’s worse than Guantanamo. The Israeli Ministry of Health accepts that these prisoners receive poor care. What the Israeli army is doing to these detainees is what is called a policy of enforced disappearance. “, he assures.
Because these detainees, suspected of belonging to Hamas, are arrested in Gaza and imprisoned without trial. As the International Criminal Court requests arrest warrants against Israeli officialsthe army announces that it is opening an investigation into Sdé Teiman.
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