US State Department denounces “illegal killings” and “torture” in Israel | middle East

The October 7th attacks carried out by Hamas and the war in the Gaza Strip initiated by the Israeli government at the time had “a significant negative impact” on the human rights situation in Israel, says the US State Department in its report on rights human resources in the world in 2023. The report does not represent the Administration’s positions, but there are “processes within the department that are analyzing the incidents that have been raised”, said Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, at the press conference presenting the report .

“These processes are ongoing,” Blinken said. “It is important that we take the time to do our best to get the facts, information and analysis. It’s a big challenge to do this in real time.”

Citing the “significant conflict-related abuses” that were documented throughout the year, the report speaks of “extensive and, in many cases, unprecedented violations” reported by human rights organizations that “alleged the commission of war crimes by part of Israel, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and other Palestinian militant groups.”

Among human rights violations committed by Israel, the document reports “credible reports of: arbitrary or illegal killings, including extrajudicial executions; enforced disappearances; torture or inhuman or degrading treatment by public officials.”

Regarding Israeli prisons and the treatment of Palestinian detainees after 7 October, the report refers to “reports of systematic torture”, analyzing, in particular, the case of Taher Abu Assab, “one of six Palestinians who died in Israeli custody”. after the attacks and that his cellmate said he was “beaten to death” by a prison services unit. His death led the non-governmental organization Public Committee against Torture in Israel to admit “serious suspicions that the I.P.S. [Serviço Prisional Israelita] is being transformed into a vengeful and punitive force,” he says.

Noting that the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) has continually extended a “’temporary’ law” exempting the Shin Bet (internal secret services) of recording interrogations in cases involving crimes with a prison sentence of ten or more years, the report states that the same NGO denounces “a trend of increase in the number of cases in which the Shin Bet would have used ‘exceptional measures’”. According to the NGO, these measures include “beatings”; “incommunicado detention”; “sexual harassment, threats of rape”; “painful pressure exerted by shackles”; “humiliation based on religion, sleep deprivation, exposure to extreme heat and cold and threats against the families of detainees, as well as other acts that may constitute torture”.

“The Government acknowledged that, in some cases, it used so-called ‘exceptional measures’ during interrogations, but the Ministry of Justice refused to provide information on the number of such interrogations, or what specific ‘exceptional measures’ were used,” reads the report.

The document also accuses the Israeli Government of violating several Palestinian freedoms, for example, through the wall that divides most of the West Bank from Israel and which “significantly impedes the freedom of movement of Palestinians, affecting residents’ access to their extended families , places of worship, employment, agricultural land, schools and hospitals, as well as commerce, journalism and humanitarian and NGO activities”.

Among other examples cited, the Government is accused of having also “particularly limited the freedoms of peaceful assembly and association of Palestinians residing in Jerusalem”.

“In general, when we look at human rights and the human rights situation around the world, we apply the same standard to everyone. This does not change whether the country is an adversary, a competitor, a friend or an ally”, guaranteed Blinken. In response to criticism that Israel escapes unscathed from these accusations, which do not even affect the financial aid (including military) given by the USA, the Secretary of State asked and responded: “Do we have double standards? The answer is no.”