Dear [Elected Official / Candidate’s Name],
I am writing to bring to your immediate attention the disturbing recent development regarding the torture of Palestinians in Israeli detention camps. One man is now being treated at an Israeli hospital following the reported gang rape by 9 Israeli soldiers, whilst detained at the Sde Teiman detention facility. Following the initial exposé from CNN, which documented the forced disappearances and systemic abuse of Palestinian detainees, reports of rape and the use of an electric chair emerged in multiple testimonies.
This latest development of gang rape underscores the systematic culture of abuse, enabled by senior officials and leaders. Our government must intervene and take decisive action now. As my elected official, I urge you to push for the prosecution of those involved in this assault, and sanction Israel for their use of these camps that are routinely breaking international law.
Earlier reports provided harrowing details of the extreme physical and psychological abuse inflicted upon Palestinian detainees. Multiple detainees, including Mr. Ibrahim Shaheen and Mr. Bakr, reported being subjected to electric shocks while seated in wired chairs. Mr. Shaheen described being shocked approximately half a dozen times during interrogations, leading to severe trauma and unconsciousness.
Testimonies of sexual violence at the Sde Teiman by former detainees are harrowing. Mr. al-Hamlawi, a detainee, recounted being forcibly pressed against a metal stick fixed to the ground, which penetrated his rectum, causing severe bleeding and unbearable pain. Similar accounts were detailed in a leaked UNRWA report, where another detainee described the experience as sitting “on something like a hot metal stick,” which felt like fire and resulted in the death of a fellow detainee after they were subjected to a similar ordeal.
The conditions in these camps are deplorable, with detainees subjected to extreme physical restraint, including being blindfolded, handcuffed, and confined under harsh conditions. Reports indicate systematic physical violence, including beatings and amputations due to injuries sustained from constant handcuffing. Medical procedures are performed by under-qualified personnel without anaesthesia, further compounding the suffering of detainees.
These abuses are a continuation of the violent and humiliating tactics employed by the Israeli military in Gaza. Over the past seven months, numerous instances have been documented of Palestinians being rounded up, stripped, bound, and blindfolded in the streets, on the backs of trucks, and in large open spaces. The dehumanising culture of abuse is systemic within the Israeli Defence Forces, with soldiers uploading videos to social media boasting of their war crimes and documenting them in action.
The Guardian’s report in April 2024 exposed the extent of the detainee crisis, with “tens of thousands” of individuals disappearing in Gaza, their fate unknown and their voices silenced. This ongoing campaign of forced disappearances represents a grave violation of international law and a blatant disregard for the fundamental rights and dignity of the Palestinian people.
A letter addressed to the Israeli attorney general and defence ministers by a former detention camp worker warned that “the facilities’ operations do not comply with a single section among those dealing with health in the Incarceration of Unlawful Combatants Law.”
The international community cannot remain silent in the face of such grave atrocities. It is our collective responsibility to stand up for justice, accountability, and the inherent dignity of every individual, regardless of their nationality or ethnicity.
The situation in Gaza is beyond critical, as war crimes and atrocities continue to be committed by Israel with impunity. Immediate action is needed. The inaction of governments around the world only serves to perpetuate the cycle of impunity and enables further abuses to occur unchecked. Words alone are insufficient; we must demand concrete action to hold Israel accountable for its crimes.
I implore you to stand by these directives and take immediate steps to halt all arms sales to Israel, sanction the apartheid state, implement a two-way trade embargo, and freeze all overseas assets belonging to this rogue state. Failure to act in the face of this grave and deliberate humanitarian catastrophe is not acceptable. We all bear a responsibility to halt this genocide and lend our voice to ending this atrocity, I hope you will do the same.
[Your Name]
[Full Address]
