HRW report accuses Israel of war crimes over degrading images of detained Palestinians

Palestinian detainees have faced inhumane treatment at the hands of Israeli forces including the publishing of degrading videos and images of detainees that amount to war crimes, Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday.

A new report by HRW found that Israeli soldiers have routinely filmed and published footage of half-naked Palestinian detainees, often sharing it on social media sites and adding demeaning and derogatory captions.

The human rights organisation said that forced nudity followed by the capturing and sharing of sexualised images on social media is sexual violence and a war crime.

The report analysed dozens of social media posts from Israelis which showed Palestinian men and boys from Gaza and the occupied West Bank, often half naked or naked, handcuffed and blindfolded.

Israel has detained and forcibly disappeared hundreds of Palestinian men women and children throughout the nine-month long war on Gaza.

The HRW report highlights various cases of Israeli soldiers posting footage of detained Palestinians on their social media accounts, an issue which has also been investigated in recent reports by the BBC.

"Between October 25 and December 28, one Israeli soldier, who according to his social media holds US citizenship, published at least seven photos and videos of Palestinian men detained by his unit in the West Bank.

"In the images, the clothed detainees are handcuffed, many of them are blindfolded, and some have Israeli flags placed on them," the report said.

In another case, a soldier posted a photo of himself standing in front of six detained men stripped to their underwear and blindfolded with the caption: '"Mom I think I freed palestine" [sic].’

While Israeli military officers have allegedly acted against individuals exposed in previous investigations, the government has not publicly condemned nor introduced any public hearings in relation to these incidents, HRW noted.

NEW: Israeli forces have been publishing degrading photographs and videos of detained Palestinians, including children, a form of inhumane treatment and an outrage on their personal dignity. These acts amount to war crimes.

Read more: https://t.co/FYJI71OzB8 pic.twitter.com/zjMn6EdPiY

— Human Rights Watch (@hrw) July 23, 2024

HRW said it wrote to Israel's military last week but did not receive a reply.

Balkees Jarrah, acting Middle East director at Human Rights Watch said: "Israeli authorities have for months turned a blind eye as members of their military published dehumanizing fully or semi-nude images and videos of Palestinians in their custody".

"Senior officials and military commanders can be held criminally responsible for ordering these crimes, or for failing to prevent or punish them, including at the International Criminal Court."

The rights group said that sexual violence and "outrages upon personal dignity" – as evidenced by the photographs and videos – are violations of international humanitarian law as laid out in the Rome Statute which established the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The ICC is currently investigating atrocities committed by Israel against Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. The chief prosecutor Karim Khan said he was seeking arrest warrants against Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defence minister Yoav Gallant in May.

In the wake of the 7 October attacks, the Israeli government amended the 'Unlawful Combatants Law' allowing the military to detain Palestinians without an order for 45 days and extended the period a detainee can be held without seeing a lawyer from 21 days to three months.

Detainees have reported being bought before a judge but not able to speak or ask questions, and instead told their detention had been renewed for another 45 days and were never told why they were arrested.

According to Israeli human rights organisation Hamoked, 3,379 Palestinians are currently held under administrative detention.  According to the Palestinian Prisoners Club, around 9,600 Palestinians are in Israeli jails, including these 3,379.

Lawyers and released detainees have reported horrifying accounts of torture of Palestinian prisoners, including sexual, physical and psychological abuse. Prisoners are reportedly handcuffed at all hours, often blindfolded and fed "100 grams" of food a day.

Some prisoners have recently been released looking emaciated, traumatised, and shocked with their families barely able to recognise them.