Skip to main content

Videos show Israeli army torturing Palestinians in West Bank

Horrific videos show Israeli soldiers brutally torturing Palestinians in West Bank
MENA
2 min read
01 November, 2023
Horrifying videos have emerged on social media showing Israeli soldiers brutally torturing Palestinians in the West Bank, amid a rise in Israeli attacks in the occupied territory.
Israeli forces have arrested 1,700 Palestinians in raids in the occupied West Bank since 7 October [Getty]

Horrifying videos emerged on social media on Tuesday of Israeli soldiers detaining and torturing Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

The videos, one of which was reportedly filmed in the town of Yatta near Hebron on Sunday, show Palestinian detainees blindfolded and bound, with some naked, being beaten and dragged across the ground.

Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor said the footage showed Israeli soldiers bragging about torturing the detainees, with some beating them with their rifle butts, and trampling on detainees' heads.

The New Arab is unable to show the videos due to their graphic and disturbing content.

Included in the methods of torture documented was the use of the "wheel" method and the "ghost" method, with the former forcing the victim to sit in a car tire while being beaten, and the latter having the victim hung from a hook or door handle so that only their toes touch the ground.

MENA
Live Story

The rights monitor also received testimony from some of the detainees, one of which stated that he had been detained to try and force his brother to turn himself in.

Other detainees and their family members confirmed that they had been tortured, such as through beatings, outdoor confinement and the use of intentionally loud or frightening music.

According to Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, a rights group based in the occupied West Bank, the testimonies they attained "reflect horrifying details of systematic and intensified crimes, which are continuously escalating, reaching the point of direct threats to open fire" on detainees.

This includes a host of other methods of torture such as "brutal beatings, field interrogations, threats of killing and rape, the use of police dogs, and using Palestinians as human shields."

Euro-Med stated that "hostage-taking and torture are considered war crimes," with anyone committing, ordering, or failing to prevent such crimes "bear criminal responsibility and must be brought before the International Criminal Court."

Society
Live Story

News of the videos comes as Israel increases its attacks in the West Bank amid its war in Gaza. 1,700 people have been arrested since Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel in 7 October, according to Euro-Med.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in the West Bank 130 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces or Israeli settlers, with a further 2,100 injured in the West Bank.

The violence prompted condemnation from the EU's top diplomat Josep Borrel, who said he "expressed great concern over attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians."