Palestinians tell BBC they were sexually abused in Israeli prisons

This article contains descriptions of sexual abuse and violence that some readers may find disturbing.

Two Palestinian men told the BBC they had personally been subjected to the kind of beatings and sexual abuse highlighted in recent reports on the treatment of prisoners in Israeli custody.

The United Nations Committee Against Torture said last month it was deeply concerned by reports showing that “de facto state policy is organized and widespread torture and ill-treatment” of Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons. It was stated that the allegations “seriously intensified” after the attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, under the leadership of Hamas.

Other reports by Israeli and Palestinian rights groups detail what they say is “systematic” abuse.

Israel has denied all the allegations, but human rights groups say anger in the country over the Oct. 7 attacks and the treatment of Israeli hostages in Gaza has created a culture of impunity in prison services, particularly against detainees who support Hamas and its attacks.

Last year, leaked CCTV footage from an Israeli military prison showed a Palestinian man from Gaza allegedly being sexually abused by prison guards. This led to resignations and accusations at the top of Israel’s military and political structure.

Sami al-Saei, 46, currently works in a furniture store but was working as a freelance journalist in the town of Tulkarm in the northern occupied West Bank.

He was arrested by Israeli soldiers in January 2024 after working with journalists to arrange interviews with Hamas members and other armed groups.

Before being released this summer, he was detained without charge for 16 months under Israel’s controversial system known as administrative detention.

She said guards partially undressed her and raped her with a baton on or about March 13, 2024, while she was being held in Megiddo prison in northern Israel.

He said he decided to speak to the BBC about the sexual abuse allegations despite the risk of ostracism in the conservative Palestinian community in the West Bank.

“There were five or six,” he said.

“They were laughing and enjoying it. The guard asked me: ‘Are you enjoying this? We want to play with you and bring your wife, sister, mother and friends here too,'” Mr. al-Saei continued.

“I was hoping to die and escape this situation because the pain was not only from the rape, but also from the violent and painful beating.”

He said the attack lasted about 15 to 20 minutes, during which the guards also squeezed his genitals, causing extreme pain.

He said beatings happened almost every day, but he was sexually abused only once.

The BBC has requested a response from the Israel Prison Service (IPS) to Mr al-Saei’s allegations. The statement included the following: “By acting in full compliance with the law, we ensure the safety, well-being and rights of all inmates under our care.

“We are not aware of the allegations disclosed and, to the best of our knowledge, no such incident has occurred under the responsibility of IPS.”

We also asked the IPS whether an investigation had been launched into the alleged sexual assault and whether any medical records were available. He did not comment.

Allegations of mistreatment of Palestinians in Israeli prisons have been made for decades, but a recent case has shaken the country’s establishment and deepened a growing divide in Israeli society over the treatment of prisoners and detainees accused of supporting Hamas.

In August 2024, leaked security cameras from Sde Teiman military prison in southern Israel showed a Palestinian detainee in Gaza allegedly being abused by soldiers with a sharp object, leaving a hole in the man’s rectum. The attack allegedly took place in July 2024.

Five Israeli reservists were charged with aggravated harassment and causing serious bodily harm to a detainee.

Last month they held a press conference on Israeli television; four of them wore black ski masks to hide their identities.

In an interview with Channel 14 News, a fifth soldier took off his mask and revealed his face, saying he had nothing to hide.

All five denied the charges.

Reservists held a press conference after it was revealed that CCTV footage was leaked by the Israeli army’s chief lawyer, Chief Military Prosecutor Major General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi.

He resigned in October, saying he took full responsibility for the leak. He explained that he wanted to “counter false propaganda against the military’s law enforcement agencies”, citing claims by some right-wing politicians that the allegations were fabricated.

Supporters of the far right protested outside Sde Teiman prison in support of five accused reservists.

In July, before his resignation, at a heated committee hearing in the Israeli parliament, Hanoch Milwidsky, a politician from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party, was grilled about whether it was acceptable to rape a prisoner.

“Shut up, shut up,” he shouted. “Yes, if they are Nukhba, everything is legal [elite Hamas fighters who took part in the 7 October attacks]. Everything.”

A recent poll by the highly respected Israel Democracy Institute showed that a majority of Israelis oppose investigating soldiers suspected of abusing Palestinians in Gaza.

His real name is not Ahmed, but he lives in the West Bank with his wife and 11 children.

He was arrested by soldiers in January 2024 and convicted of inciting terrorism after making social media posts praising the October 7 Hamas-led attacks in which approximately 1,200 people, mostly Israelis, were killed and 251 taken hostage.

He was sentenced to one year in prison and fined 3,000 shekels ($935, £700).

She alleges serious sexual abuse while in Israeli detention.

“Three guards took me to the bathroom and stripped me completely naked before forcing me to the floor,” Ahmed said in an interview at his home.

“They put my head in the toilet bowl and a big man, probably 150 kilos (330 lb) got on top of my head, so I ducked. Then I heard the voice of someone talking to the prison dog. The dog’s name was Messi, like the football player.”

She then detailed how she said the dog was being used to sexually humiliate her. He said his pants and underwear were removed and the dog got on his back.

“I could feel his breathing… then he jumped on me… I started screaming. The more I screamed, the more they beat me, until I almost lost consciousness.”

Ahmed also said that during his time in detention, guards regularly beat him, including on his genitals.

He said he was released after serving his full sentence, 12 days after the sexual abuse allegation.

We asked Ahmed if there was any medical documentation regarding his claims, but he said he did not have any.

We contacted IPS for a response to Ahmed’s allegations and to see if an investigation had been launched into the alleged abuse, but we did not receive a response.

There are more than 9,000 Palestinian security detainees in Israeli prisons; This figure is almost double the number before the October 7 attacks. Many were never charged.

The latest report of the UN Committee Against Torture unequivocally condemned the October 7 attacks and expressed deep concern about Israel’s response and the huge loss of life in Gaza.

Some of the hostages kidnapped on October 7 and survivors of the attacks also made allegations of sexual abuse, rape and torture by Hamas and its allies.

Hamas also publicly executed Palestinians in Gaza accused of collaborating with Israel.

There are also allegations of mistreatment in prisons run by the Palestinian Authority (PA), which governs parts of the West Bank not under Israeli control and is a political and military rival of Hamas.

The BBC interviewed a former detainee who said Palestinian Authority security officers beat him and gave him electric shocks.

The BBC contacted the Palestinian Authority for comment but received no response. He has previously denied allegations of systematic abuse.

In a report submitted to the UN Committee Against Torture in October, five Israeli human rights groups said there had been “a dramatic increase in torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment in all detention centres, carried out with almost complete impunity and implemented as a state policy targeting Palestinians.”

Adalah, the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, Parents Against Child Detention, HaMoked, and Doctors for Human Rights-Israel presented evidence showing that Israel has “eliminated existing safeguards and now uses torture throughout the entire detention process – from arrest to incarceration – targeting occupied Palestinians and Palestinian citizens, while senior officials sanction these violations while judicial and administrative mechanisms fail to intervene.”

The report stated that such practices have led to an increase in the number of Palestinians detained and that at least 94 deaths in Israeli custody have been documented between the beginning of the Gaza war and the end of August 2025.

Israel’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva dismissed the allegations presented to the UN Committee Against Torture as “disinformation”.

Daniel Meron told the expert panel last month that Israel was “determined to fulfill its obligations in line with our moral values ​​and principles, despite the difficulties posed by the terrorist organization.”

He said relevant Israeli institutions fully complied with the ban on torture and that Israel rejected allegations of systematic use of sexual and gender-based violence.