Since the October 7 attack by Hamas and the offensive by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip, many Palestinians arrested by the IDF have been incarcerated in Israel, notably in the Sde Teiman detention center. Last January, the independent Israeli magazine +972had already begun to investigate the conditions of incarceration of Palestinians held in this prison in particular, by collecting damning testimonies.
On May 11, 2024, the investigation unit of CNN in turn published an investigation into the horror of the conditions of detention of Palestinians in this military base, documented by photos obtained thanks to Israeli whistleblowers. Torture, humiliation, medical neglect, physical violence… Since these revelations, several NGOs have requested the closure of the place before the Supreme Court of Israel. We summarize for you what we know about this detention camp.
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1. What is Sde Teiman?
This Israeli military base is located in the south of the country, in the Negev desert, near the town of Bir al-Saba and approximately 30 kilometers from the Gaza Strip. According to the investigation of CNN, the base is cut in two: there is a fenced part where the prisoners are located, and a field hospital, often used in the army for temporary operations. No official figures have been released on the exact number of detainees.
Since the October 7 attacks by Hamas, causing the deaths of nearly 1,200 people in Israel, the military base has been transformed into a detention center for Palestinians taken prisoner by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip, during its offensive which left more than 35,000 dead according to Hamas. Two other military bases have been converted into places of detention according to the army: the Anatot and Ofer bases, in the occupied West Bank.
These changes were possible under a law passed in the Israeli Parliament, the Knesset, on December 18. It is “the Law on the Detention of Illegal Combatants”which temporarily allows the army to detain people it suspects of engaging in “activities hostile to the State of Israel, directly or indirectly, or belonging to a force engaged in activities against the State of Israel.” This text allows the Israeli army not to grant them the status of prisoner of war and therefore the rights that go with it.
2. What is the army accused of in Sde Teiman?
Detention conditions contrary to humanitarian law in Sde Teiman had already been reported by Arab and Israeli media in recent months. In January 2024, +972 Magazine had thus revealed testimonies from Palestinians who had been detained in several Israeli detention centers, and in Ketziot prison. They report beatings by Israeli soldiers during interrogations. “A soldier started punching me in the stomach and kicking me. He told me: “You have been in Hamas for two years, tell me how they recruited you.” I told him I was a student. Two soldiers opened my legs and punched me in the face,” Maher remembers.
But it was last month that the violence suffered by these Palestinians detained in Sde Teiman outraged the entire world, with the publication on May 11 by the American media CNN of an investigation, fueled by testimonies from Israeli whistleblowers who worked in the camp, supporting photos. They revealed undignified, violent and dehumanizing conditions of detention. In one of the photos, we can see dozens of blindfolded prisoners, sitting on thin mattresses.
According to whistleblowers, prisoners are forbidden to speak to each other or even move. One of the sources mentions physical violence perpetrated by Israeli soldiers on Palestinian detainees, ” to take revenge “. “It was punishment for what they did on October 7 and punishment for their behavior in the camp”, she adds. Other accounts describe prisoners being forced to remain in their underwear or raise their arms above their heads for more than an hour, sometimes handcuffed to a fence.
Regarding the temporary hospital, sources describe “a facility where doctors sometimes amputate prisoners’ limbs due to injuries from constant handcuffs, where medical procedures are sometimes performed by underqualified doctors, earning the facility a reputation as ” a paradise for interns » »relays the American channel.
On RFIan Israeli surgeon who was able to visit the military base after the start of the war testifies to what he saw: “There are between 15 and 20 detainees. The patients do not have names. They are all attached the same way. They are blindfolded. They are naked. They wear diapers. It’s physical and psychological torture.”according to this doctor.
3. What were the reactions after these revelations?
Two days after the release of the investigation CNNthe United States said “concerned” and called on their Israeli ally to investigate these abuses, according to theAFP. “We are concerned about these accusations and are looking into them and other accusations of abuse against Palestinians in detention”State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters. “We have always been clear and consistent with all countries, including Israel, that they must treat all detainees humanely, with dignity and in accordance with international law”he assured.
As for the Israeli army, it responded to CNN in a press release last May: “The armed forces ensure that detainees behave properly. Any allegations of misconduct by soldiers are investigated and dealt with accordingly. In appropriate cases, investigations by the Military Police Criminal Investigation Division are initiated when there is suspicion of misconduct warranting such action.”.
“Detainees are handcuffed based on their risk level and state of health. “Authorities are not aware of any incidents of illegal handcuffing”she added.
Part of Israeli civil society has denounced the inhumane detention conditions of Sde Teiman in recent weeks. Some activists, for example, organized clandestine demonstrations near the military base, as shown in this report from France 24 . “There is a hidden torture camp here”, declared Oneg Ben Dror, member of this group of activists. The Israeli branch of the NGO Physicians For Human Rights had already called last April for an end to the sending of prisoners to this military base.
On June 5, the Israeli Supreme Court considered a petition filed by several human rights groups seeking to close the detention center.
4. Will Sde Teiman close?
Following this request before the Supreme Court, the Israeli army should gradually close the Sde Teiman detention center, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. According to the State’s lawyers before the Court, transfers of prisoners to other facilities have already begun. 700 detainees have been brought to the Ofer military base, and another 500 are expected to be transferred in the coming weeks.
According to a military Source interviewed by The world, the IDF has reportedly opened an investigation into the deaths of 48 Gazans in Israeli prisons, including 36 in Sde Teiman alone. But no member of the army has yet been arrested.
