Palestinians are being tortured in concentration camps

Dear [Elected Official Name],

I am writing to highlight the deeply concerning and ongoing issue of forced disappearances of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the subsequent torture endured by detainees in military detention camps. Recent investigative reporting by CNN and The Guardian exposes the systematic mistreatment and abuse faced by Palestinian detainees in Israeli concentration camps, as well as the alarming scale of disappearances occurring in the region.

The most recent CNN report provides harrowing details and images of the appalling conditions and human rights abuses endured by Palestinian detainees at the Sde Teiman facility in the Negev desert. As a place in which large numbers of people, including political prisoners and members of persecuted minorities, are deliberately imprisoned in a small area with inadequate facilities, these centres are by definition, concentration camps.

According to Israeli whistleblowers, detainees are subjected to extreme physical restraint, including being blindfolded, handcuffed, and confined to enclosures under harsh conditions. Reports indicate instances of physical violence, including beatings, amputations due to injuries sustained from constant handcuffing, and medical procedures performed by underqualified personnel without anaesthesia.

“The beatings were not done to gather intelligence. They were done out of revenge. It was punishment for what they (the Palestinians) did on October 7 and punishment for behaviour in the camp”.

The treatment of detained Palestinians in these camps is a continuation of the violent and humiliating tactics the Israeli military has employed in the light of day in Gaza. Over the past 7 months, we have seen numerous circumstances of hundreds of Palestinians rounded up, stripped, bound and blindfolded in the streets, on the backs of trucks, and in large open spaces. Evidently, this dehumanising culture of abuse is systemic in the IDF.

Moreover, 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.

In a letter addressed to the Israeli attorney general and defence ministers, a former detention camp worker warns 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. The invasion of Rafah represents the culmination of Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people, and 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 actions.

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 the rogue state. Failure to act in the face of this grave humanitarian crisis is not acceptable. As my elected official, you bear a responsibility to halt this genocide and lend your voice to ending this atrocity.

Your constituent,
[Full Name]
[Full Address]