Camps holding Palestinian detainees criticised in report
Israeli human rights organisations that interviewed dozens of current and former detainees are now asking the same court that ruled on the original facility to force the military to fix the problem once and for all.
What the detainees' accounts show, rights groups say, is that instead of correcting alleged abuses against Palestinians held without charge or trial, including beatings, excessive handcuffing, and poor diet and health care, Israel's military just shifted where they take place.
'What we've seen is the erosion of the basic standards for humane detention,' said Jessica Montell, the director of Hamoked, one of the rights groups petitioning the Israeli government.
Asked for a response, the military said it complies with international law and 'completely rejects allegations regarding the systematic abuse of detainees'.
The sprawling Ofer Camp and the smaller Anatot Camp, both built in the West Bank, were supposed to resolve problems rights groups documented at a detention centre in the Negev desert called Sde Teiman.
That site was intended to temporarily hold and treat militants captured during Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
But it morphed into a long-term detention centre infamous for brutalising Palestinians rounded up in Gaza, often without being charged.
Detainees transferred to Ofer and Anatot say conditions there were no better, according to more than 30 who were interviewed by lawyers for Hamoked and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel.
'They would punish you for anything' said Khaled Alserr, 32, a surgeon from Gaza who spent months at Ofer Camp and agreed to speak about his experiences.
He was released after six months without charge.
Mr Alserr said he lost count of the beatings he endured from soldiers after being rounded up in March of last year during a raid at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.
'You'd be punished for making eye contact, for asking for medicine, for looking up towards the sky,' said Mr Alserr.
Other detainees' accounts to the rights groups remain anonymous.
Their accounts could not be independently confirmed, but their accounts, given separately, were similar.
The Supreme Court has given the military until the end of March to respond to the alleged abuses at Ofer.
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The shootings of two Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses last month have shaken the political world and sparked a response from leaders of both parties. Yet, even as State House Speaker Melissa Hortman (D) and her husband, Mark, were laid to rest in St. Paul this week, the news cycle had already moved on to a new tragedy. We mustn't let this story fade, and we can't wait until the next attack. Political violence is absolutely unacceptable, and we have to do more than just condemn it; we must address it head-on now. America has a problem, and the shootings in Minnesota are a stark reminder that divisive rhetoric framing our political opponents as enemies has real consequences. As Minnesotans grieve and State Sen. John Hoffman (D) and his wife, Yvette, recover post-surgery, political leaders and voters in both parties must come together, denounce this violence and offer tangible solutions to lower the temperature of our national political discourse. Our country has always had a political violence problem. However, there has been a noticeable spike in public acts of political violence over the last decade. In 2017, a gunman shot and nearly killed Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) at a congressional baseball practice. A year later, police arrested a man after he mailed pipe bombs to high-profile Democratic officials. Just weeks before the 2020 election, the FBI intercepted a plan to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) and arrested eight paramilitary extremists. On Jan. 6, 2021, a mob of rioters stormed the Capitol to prevent the peaceful transfer of power. Dozens of Capitol police officers were viciously attacked. In October 2022, Paul Pelosi was hospitalized after an attacker broke into his home looking for then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). During the 2024 presidential campaign, there were two assassination attempts against President Trump and bomb threats in Ohio after he openly promoted false and hateful claims about Haitian immigrants. Just this year alone, a conspiracy theorist torched Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro's (D) home, two Israeli diplomats were assassinated in Washington and, now, the tragedy in Minneapolis. If that sounds like a lot, it is. This is not normal. These incidents provide an ominous picture of our current political landscape and underscore how misinformation, hyper-polarization and the televised crackdown on political dissent spark real-life harm — a pattern we've seen repeated in communities across the country. Amid a tumultuous political landscape, threats against local elected officials have been on the rise. There has also been an increased number of threats levied against marginalized communities, including Black, Indigenous, Latino, immigrant, gay, and particularly against transgender people. Political violence is not only perpetrated by individuals and extremist groups, but by elected officials as well. Just last week, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem allowed federal agents to forcibly remove Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) from her press conference and place him in handcuffs after the senator attempted to ask a question about the immigration raids and protests in Los Angeles. This sends a clear message: When you disagree with the administration publicly, you can expect to be manhandled by armed government agents. And President Trump's pardons of approximately 1,500 Jan. 6 defendants, including some who were convicted of violent actions, have created an atmosphere where certain types of violence are praised. Hate speech and violent rhetoric are also violence, as verbal threats significantly impact how someone can engage in the political process. While speaking about the ICE protests around the country, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said on the Rubin Report podcast that drivers could run over protestors, two days before thousands of Floridians were set to join the 'No Kings' protests. Robust disagreement is important. The U.S. is full of different values, views, backgrounds and preferences, and still, hundreds of millions agree on the shared value that democracy — and not political violence — is how we resolve our disputes. The good news is that Americans are not as far apart as we think we are, and we have more in common than what divides us. Recent surveys consistently find that the vast majority of Americans across the political spectrum reject political violence. This spans political ideologies, age groups and identities. Americans agree that violence should never be a tool of democracy. To turn the tide, we must hold our elected leaders accountable for their violent speech and actions. Throughout U.S. history, progress has been achieved non-violently: when people have organized together, exercised their rights of free speech and assembly, participated in elections, and ensured that abusive power holders are held accountable. The women's suffrage movement, the labor rights movement and the Civil Rights movement are a testament to this, despite the intimidation and violence these movements faced along the way. These moments in history remind us that democracy is strongest when people push back together, not just in one place but collectively across the country. In our everyday lives, the best way to counter violence is through getting to know our neighbors and getting involved in our communities. Making the effort to inoculate yourself against disinformation is essential to turning down the temperature. Standing up against bigotry and hate is another way to fight back. When people are targeted with threats, violence and the taking away of their rights because of who they are, we must all speak out. Fortunately, we aren't in this fight alone. Organizations such as mine, among many other groups, work around the clock to monitor possible threats, deeply analyze the issues, and provide responses to violence and attacks on our freedoms. During the 2024 election, local, state and national organizations came together with thousands of volunteers to support people in voting without fearing for their safety. These coordinated responses show the power in national solidarity, where communities band together to speak out, act and protect each other across regions and identities. Change starts locally and takes time, but there is so much that we can do both collectively and as individuals. Our democracy works best when all voices can be heard. It's up to every one of us to reject political violence and intimidation in all of its forms — our elected officials must be brave and follow the lead of the majority of Americans. Virginia Kase Solomón is CEO of Common Cause.
