Israel systematically torturing Palestinians in custody, says UN expert

Report by Francesca Albanese says Palestinians in custody ‘subjected to exceptionally ruthless physical and psychological abuse’ since Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza started.A United Nations expert says Israel is systematically torturing Palestinians on a scale “that suggests collective vengeance and destructive intent”.In a report released on Friday, Francesca Albanese, the UN’s special rapporteur on the rights situation in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, said that since October 7, 2023, Palestinians in custody “have been subjected to exceptionally ruthless physical and psychological abuse”.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Israel holding more than half of Palestinian child detainees without chargelist 2 of 4Five problems the Iran war could solve for Israel’s Netanyahulist 3 of 4Eid celebrations dimmed by war and displacement across Middle Eastlist 4 of 4Eid under siege: Little to celebrate in Gaza as Israel tightens chokeholdend of listEntitled “Torture and genocide”, the report “examines Israel’s systematic use of torture against Palestinians from the occupied Palestinian territory since October 7, 2023”. It claimed that “torture in detention has been used on an unprecedented scale as punitive collective vengeance”.“Brutal beatings, sexual violence, rape, lethal mistreatment, starvation, and the systematic deprivation of the most basic human conditions have inflicted profound and lasting scars on the bodies and minds of tens of thousands of Palestinians and their loved ones,” the report said.“Torture has become integral to the domination of and punishment inflicted on men, women and children, both through custodial abuse and through a relentless campaign of forced displacement, mass killings, deprivation and destruction of all means of life to inflict long-term collective pain and suffering,” it said.Albanese said she had gathered written submissions, including at least 300 testimonies.A statement accompanying the report said that while Albanese “unequivocally condemns torture and other forms of ill-treatment committed by all actors, including Palestinian armed groups”, this report “focuses on Israeli conduct”.