A New York Times opinion columnist has said that Palestinian detainees have been subjected to widespread sexual violence by Israeli prison guards, soldiers, occupiers, and interrogators, citing interviews with former detainees and findings from rights groups.
In a column published on Sunday, titled “The Silence That Meets the Rape of Palestinians”, columnist Nicholas Kristof said he interviewed 14 Palestinian men and women who described sexual assaults and other abuse during detention or attacks by Israeli forces and illegal settlers.
Kristof wrote that there was “no evidence that Israeli leaders order rapes,” but argued that Israeli authorities had built “a security apparatus where sexual violence has become,” citing a UN report, one of Israel’s “standard operating procedures.”
The article includes testimonies from former detainees describing rape, beatings, threats of sexual violence, and humiliation during imprisonment.
Kristof cited reports by organisations, including Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, Save the Children, B’Tselem, and the Committee to Protect Journalists, documenting sexual abuse and mistreatment of Palestinian detainees.
Kristof also referenced a 49-page UN report published last year that accused Israel of “systematically” subjecting Palestinians to “sexualised torture.”
According to the columnist, some former detainees were warned by Israeli authorities not to speak publicly about the abuses after their release.
