Israel quizzed at UN over 'systematic torture' of Palestinians

Israel has faced questioning at the United Nations over multiple reports alleging the torture of Palestinian detainees, particularly since October 7, 2023.

The UN Committee against Torture conducted Israel’s periodic review, with its rapporteur, Peter Vedel Kessing, saying the committee had been "deeply appalled" by the accounts it received.

"The committee has been deeply appalled by the description we have received, in a large number of alternative reports, of what appears to be systematic and widespread torture and ill-treatment of Palestinians, including children," Kessing said.

"It is claimed that torture has become a deliberate and widespread tool of state policy... from arrest to interrogation to imprisonment," he added.

The Committee against Torture consists of 10 independent experts tasked with monitoring the implementation of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment by member states.

Citing reports submitted to the committee, Kessing said that since October 7, torture and ill-treatment had escalated to "unprecedented levels" and were being carried out with impunity.

The reports, he said, came from various UN bodies, Israeli, Palestinian and international non-governmental organisations, and other independent sources.

"Many of those detained and subsequently released have reportedly been subject to torture and other ill-treatment," said Kessing, detailing "severe beatings, including on the genitals; electric shocks; being forced to remain in stress positions for prolonged periods; deliberate inhuman conditions and starvation; waterboarding; and widespread sexual insults and threats of rape."

In July 2024, the UN human rights office published a report stating that Palestinians detained by Israel during the Gaza genocide had largely been held in secret and, in some cases, subjected to treatment that may amount to torture.

Kessing noted that "the fact that one of the parties to the armed conflict violates and disregards obligations under these rules cannot be used as an excuse for the other party" to do likewise.