Both international human rights law and international humanitarian law are applicable in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), and the Occupying Power, is obliged to abide by these laws. The use of torture, and other forms of CIDT, is a grave violation of international law. Israel is a State Party to the relevant international treaties and conventions which enshrine this prohibition in the body of international law. Moreover, the prohibition on torture is a peremptory norm, which means it is accepted by States that no derogation from this norm is permitted, even in cases of war or public emergency that threaten the life of the nation. International humanitarian law also prohibits the practice of collective punishment against civilians in occupied territories.

In violation of their obligations, and as the data in this report indicates, Israeli forces and authorities routinely use torture and CIDT against Palestinians. It is the view of Al Mezan that the application of broad punitive policies against the people of Gaza by the Occupying Power, which results in severe suffering, reaches the level of unjustified and prohibited collective punishment; and the perpetrators of these violations enjoy impunity.

The impact of the blockade and closure policy applied to the Gaza Strip amounts to CIDT; the policy results in serious harm to people’s dignity and causes severe physical and psychological pain. As stated above, human rights treaties and conventions “provide that no one shall be subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”.  According to the laws of occupation, Israel, as the Occupying Power, must end the imposed blockade and closure of the Gaza Strip, and ensure that the basic needs of the civilian population are met.

Al Mezan Center for Human Rights strongly condemns Israel’s continued and escalating use of torture and CIDT against Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons, patients who are trying to reach hospitals outside the Gaza Strip, and fishermen at sea. Al Mezan condemns Israel’s punitive attacks against homes, which force families to evacuate, rendering them homeless. It is imperative that Israel end the use of torture and ill-treatment against Palestinians.

International law imposes obligations on the Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to “search for persons alleged to have committed, or to have ordered to be committed, such grave breaches, and shall bring such persons, regardless of their nationality, before its own courts”.  Therefore, Al Mezan calls on the international community to uphold its obligations under international law by exerting pressure on Israel to respect international law and, in particular, to end the use of torture and CIDT. The international community must also fulfill its international obligations to investigate and provide accountability for violations of international law, especially in cases of torture and CIDT.

Project funded by the European Union - Joint Project of Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, Adalah, and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel. The contents of this report are the sole responsibility of Al Mezan Center for Human Rights and under no circumstances should be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union