Merz: Israel's actions in Gaza can 'no longer be justified' - Euractiv
cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/65102495
The Israeli government's actions in Gaza "can no longer be justified," said German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Monday, signalling a profound shift in tone from one of Europe's traditionally most staunch supporters of Israel.
They were always unjustifiable
Getting the hostages back?
Many Israelis actually marched against the war plans right from the start, because they knew it wasn't about hostages.
I agree, getting the hostages back is essential to peace. I'm sure that was not the point you were trying to make, however.
Since 1967, between 750,000 and 1 million Palestinians have been arrested by Israel. As of October 2023, Israel held 5,200 Palestinian prisoners, including 170 children
Hamas releases 80 Israeli hostages in exchange for the release of 240 prisoners during the weeklong ceasefire.
Sounds like a good plan to me.
Israel also applies systemic rape and torture to the 'prisoners,' many are arrested arbitrarily via administrative detention. This includes hundreds of children as well
Israel has also repeatedly stated that returning the hostages are secondary to 'eliminating Hamas' aka the full ethnic cleansing of Gaza. On the other hand, Hamas has proposed a full prisoner exchange and peace resolution since Oct 8th, along with agreeing to the UN proposal that passed
applies systemic rape and torture to the 'prisoners'
Is there a source for that?
Yes
Palestinians denied civil rights (HRW) including Military Court (B'TSelem)
Palestinian Prisoners in Israel (wiki)
Children are jailed and abused in Israeli prisons (Save The Children)
Stripped, beaten and blindfolded: new research reveals ongoing violence and abuse of Palestinian children detained by Israeli military - (Save The Children)
Torture and Abuse in Interrogations (B'TSelem)
Thousands of Palestinians are held without charge under Israeli detention policy (NPR)
Shocking testimony: Torture in Israeli prisons, “sexual assaults even using dogs"
Why raping Palestinians is legitimate Israeli military practice
'Everything is legitimate’: Israeli leaders defend soldiers accused of rape
Extent of systematic torture, atrocities endured by Palestinians in Israeli prisons is shocking
UN Report Details Vast, Systemic Torture of Palestinians in Israeli Detention
“Welcome to Hell” is a report on the abuse and inhuman treatment of Palestinians held in Israeli custody since 7 October 2023. B’Tselem collected testimonies from 55 Palestinians held during that time and released, almost all with no charges. Their testimonies reveal the outcomes of the rushed transformation of more than a dozen Israeli prison facilities, military and civilian, into a network of camps dedicated to the abuse of inmates as a matter of policy. Facilities in which every inmate is deliberately subjected to harsh, relentless pain and suffering operate as de-facto torture camps.
Thanks. So, to me, from the sources you linked, it seems "systemic abuses/torture" is justifiable claim. "Systemic rape" seems like a claim that might be over the line — even as raping prisoners is apparently accepted among certain strata of Israeli society. /f
Did you really just make that claim without going though the actual reporting? That's absolutely disgusting. Even the majority of children detained and held in these torture prisons experience sexual assault.
They spoke with B’Tselem after they were released from detention, the overwhelming majority of them without being tried. Their testimonies uncover a systemic, institutional policy focused on the continual abuse and torture of all Palestinian prisoners. This includes frequent acts of severe, arbitrary violence; sexual assault; humiliation and degradation; deliberate starvation; forced unhygienic conditions; sleep deprivation; prohibition on, and punitive measures for, religious worship; confiscation of all communal and personal belongings; and denial of adequate medical treatment.
Various testimonies revealed repeated use of sexual violence, in varying degrees of severity, by soldiers or prison guards against Palestinian detainees as an additional punitive measure. The witnesses described blows to the genitals and other body parts of naked prisoners; the use of metal tools and batons to cause genital pain;the photographing of naked prisoners; penises being grabbed; and strip-searches for the sake of humiliation and degradation. The testimonies also reveal cases of gang sexual violence and assault committed by a group of prison guards or soldiers. One particularly grave testimony, quoted at length below, reports the attempted anal rape of a Palestinian detainee by several prison guards. Similar incidents were mentioned in other testimonies.
In addition to being crimes against humanity and full-fledged war crimes, the crimes committed by the Israeli occupation army and other Israeli security forces against Palestinian prisoners and detainees from the Gaza Strip also amount to acts of genocide against the Palestinian people in the Strip, because they are carried out in a systematic and brutal manner. These acts include the killing of Palestinians and the infliction of severe physical and psychological harm, including torture, other forms of ill-treatment, and sexual violence, including rape, and are carried out with the goal of eradicating the Palestinian people as a whole.
The video of the alleged gang rape at Sde Teiman is the latest piece in a growing body of evidence of abuse, sexual assault and the systematic withholding of food and medical care that Palestinians endure within the Israeli prison system
“The conditions at Sde Teiman aren’t unique. They’re just the tip of the iceberg,” the organisation’s spokesperson, Shai Parnes, told Al Jazeera by phone from Jerusalem
"We heard similar accounts of sexual abuse, starvation and assault from separate prisoners held in 16 different locations across Israel. It was depressing. As we gathered the testimonies, we realised that every witness account was almost identical, no matter what their age, gender or location was. There’s no doubt. This kind of abuse is systematic,” he said
On June 27, the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor said that the Israeli army’s use of police dogs to attack Palestinian civilians during its military operations in the Gaza Strip, in addition to their use to terrorize, maul and rape prisoners and detainees in Israeli detention centers, is “a systematic and widely practiced behavior"
Save the Children’s new consultation showed that:
During arrest, 42% of children were injured, including gunshot wounds and broken bones, and 65% of children were arrested during the night, mostly between midnight and dawn. Half of all arrests took place in the children’s home.
The majority of children experienced appalling levels of physical and emotional abuse, including being beaten (86%), being threatened with harm (70%), and hit with sticks or guns (60%).
Some children reported violence and abuse of a sexual nature, including being hit or touched on the genitals and 69% reported being strip searched.
60% of children experienced solitary confinement with the length of time varying from one 1 day to as long as 48 days.
Children were denied access to basic services, 70% said they suffered from hunger and 68% said they didn’t receive any healthcare.
Who cares? And what part of the Israeli government’s actions tells you they care at all whether their hostages live or die?
