Israeli sexual violence against Palestinians laid bare in new NYT piece

DUBAI: A recent opinion article in the New York Times by columnist Nicholas Kristof has brought renewed attention to allegations of abuse against Palestinian detainees during the Gaza war, citing testimonies from former prisoners, human rights organizations and findings referenced by UN bodies.
Kristof uses testimonies from 14 Palestinian men and women to uncover the sytemization of rape within the Israeli prison and security apparatus.
Sami al-Sai, 46, a freelance journalist qouted in the piece is one of the testimonies used to potray the type of sexual voilence which a UN report warned has become, one of Israel’s “standard operating procedures” and “a major element in the ill treatment of Palestinians.”
“They were all hitting me, and one stepped on my head and neck,” he told the New York Times.
His accounts described in vivid detail how guards pulled down his underwear and used a baton in their horrific attacks that followed.
Another testimony from a Palestinian woman documents daily humilation and molestation by male and female guards in what she desrcibed as a strategy to “break her spirit”.
“They had their hands all over my body,” she said. “To be honest, I don’t know if they raped me,” she said, because she sometimes lost consciousness from the beatings.
“I’d be stripped and beaten several times a day. It was as if they were introducing me to everyone who worked there. At the beginning of each shift, they would bring the guys to strip me.”
Other testimony described in graphic detail how a dog was used to rape a prisoner.
“They were using cameras to take photos, and I heard their laughs and giggles,” the article reads.
The article has sparked strong reactions across political and media circles, with the Israeli Foreign Ministry describing it as a antisemtic “blood libel”. Kristof has since responded asking why many Palestinian prisoners had been denied visits from the Red Crosss and humanitarian observers if tehre was nothing to hide.
“For skeptics, why not agree on Red Cross and lawyer visits for the 9,000 Palestinian "security" prisoners? If you think these abuse allegations are false, such monitoring visits would be protective. So why not?,” he posted on X.
Israel has detained 20,000 people in the West Bank alone since Oct 7 and more than 9,000 Palestinians were still being held as of this month. Many have not been charged but were detained under ill-defined security grounds.
Organizations such as B’Tselem and various UN agencies have raised concerns over conditions in Israeli detention facilities and called for independent investigations. Israeli authorities have previously denied systematic abuse and said any violations of law are subject to internal investigation.
“Rampant sexual abuse of Palestinian prisoners is a thing; it’s been normalized,” said Sari Bashi, an Israeli American human rights lawyer who is the executive director of the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel.
“I don’t see evidence that it has been ordered. But there’s persistent evidence that the authorities know it’s happening and are not stopping it.”
International humanitarian law prohibits sexual violence, torture and degrading treatment under all circumstances. Legal experts emphasize that these protections apply equally to detainees, civilians and hostages, regardless of nationality or affiliation.

Israeli sexual violence against Palestinians laid bare in new NYT piece