DUBAI: A recent opinion article in the New York Times by columnist Nicholas Kristof has brought renewed attention to allegations of abuse against Palestinian detainees during the Gaza war, citing testimonies from former prisoners, human rights organizations and findings referenced by UN bodies.
Kristof uses testimonies from 14 Palestinian men and women to uncover the sytemization of rape within the Israeli prison and security apparatus.
Sami al-Sai, 46, a freelance journalist qouted in the piece is one of the testimonies used to potray the type of sexual voilence which a UN report warned has become, one of Israel’s “standard operating procedures” and “a major element in the ill treatment of Palestinians.”
“They were all hitting me, and one stepped on my head and neck,” he told the New York Times.
His accounts described in vivid detail how guards pulled down his underwear and used a baton in their horrific attacks that followed.
