The United Nations has added Israel to its blacklist of parties accused of committing sexual violence in conflict zones in the “Secretary-General's Annual Report on Conflict-Related Sexual Violence”, according to various media reports.
The Israeli Prison Service is among the entities to be formally included on the list for abuse against Palestinians, with several other Israeli institutions placed under a monitoring framework in preparation for their possible future inclusion, the reports said on Thursday.
The listing comes amid a mounting body of evidence compiled by rights organisations, media outlets, and UN investigators.
Hundreds of testimonies from Palestinian detainees held in Gaza, the occupied West Bank, and inside Israeli prisons have detailed accounts of torture and sexual abuse during arrest, interrogation, and detention.
Last month, UN experts also said that sexual and gender-based violence is being used as a "systematic tool" of control and oppression against Palestinians under Israeli occupation, warning that the acts may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The experts said abuses occur in multiple contexts, including detention, checkpoints and house raids, and involve Israeli forces and illegal settlers.
The UN blacklist carries significant reputational and diplomatic consequences for listed parties.
The annual report is customarily presented to relevant states ahead of publication.
Last August, the report warned Israel could be added to the list of parties suspected of, or responsible for, sexual violence in situations of armed conflict.
The UN also said its inspectors had been denied access to the Israeli detention facilities.
Israel responded to the UN blacklist by “breaking all contact” with United Nations chief Antonio Guterres.
Israel's foreign ministry called the country's inclusion on the UN sexual violence list "absurd."
A spokesperson for Guterres said the office was aware of Israeli remarks.
"For our part, the secretary-general's door remains open," the spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, said.
