"Torture & Genocide": U.N. Expert Francesca Albanese Denounces Israeli Abuse of Palestinians
Quick Read
Summary
Takeaways
- ❖UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese's report, "Torture and Genocide," details Israel's systematic, widespread, and sadistic use of torture against Palestinians, aiming to break their spirit as a people.
- ❖Since October 2023, torture has become an explicit state policy, with practices including sodomy, rape with objects, enforced disappearances, starvation, and forced displacement.
- ❖Albanese calls for immediate international justice, demanding Israel end its occupation and for member states to cease weapons transfers and cut ties.
Insights
1Israel's Systematic Torture as State Policy and Element of Genocide
Francesca Albanese's report finds that Israel uses torture systematically, widespread, intentionally, and sadistically to break the spirit of Palestinians. This includes both direct torture in jails and a "torturous environment" created by cumulative practices like enforced disappearance, starvation, forced displacement, and home demolitions. Since October 2023, torture has become an explicit state policy, with figures like Itamar Ben-Gvir promoting harsher treatment.
Israel uses torture in a systematic and widespread fashion, intentionally and sadistically, to break the spirit of the Palestinians, not just as individuals, but as a people, considering the scale and intensity of torture. () The conditions have become more and more brutal and intentionally so... Palestinians have routinely been abducted... shackled, blindfolded, beaten, humiliated, stripped naked, photographed, filmed, exposed to Israeli civilians, including settlers. () The most painful, excruciating thing... is how Palestinian women and men have been sodomized, have been raped with bottles, with knives, with metal rods. () The concept of torture has become a state policy. ()
2Legislative and Societal Complicity in Abuses
Albanese highlights a disturbing trend of societal and legislative complicity in the mistreatment of Palestinians. She notes discussions in the Knesset about the "right to rape Palestinians" and a celebratory attitude within society regarding abuses in jail. Cases of officials caught on video committing crimes, like sodomy, have seen charges dropped, while whistleblowers face house arrest.
There has been almost something celebratory against the mistreatment of Palestinians in jail among the society. The legislative power, the Knesset, has been discussing the right to rape Palestinians. () Even the prisoner who was sodomized through it was raped with a knife, brought to the hospital. Five Israeli officials were identified and pressed charged against, and now the charges have been dropped. ()
Lessons
- International member states must intervene, cut ties, and stop weapons transfers to Israel.
- Perpetrators of torture and other crimes against Palestinians must be brought to justice.
- Israel must withdraw from the occupied territories, end its occupation, and cease exploitation of Palestinian resources.
Quotes
"Israel uses torture in a systematic and widespread fashion, intentionally and sadistically, to break the spirit of the Palestinians, not just as individuals, but as a people, considering the scale and intensity of torture."
"The legislative power, the Knesset, has been discussing the right to rape Palestinians."
"Israel must be stopped because, Amy, I can't even use the past tense. As we speak, there are still over 9,000 Palestinian hostages... in Israeli jail."
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