Click to Close
Donate Now

Israel Kept Palestinian Detainees in Ditches Without Food and Water

UN Says 'Too Early' to Declare War Crimes

by Jason Ditz, July 07, 2009

As the United Nations wrapped up the testimony gathering portion of its investigation into the Israeli war against the Gaza Strip, an Israeli human rights group today described the “disgraceful” treatment of some of the detainees held during the war.

The group reported that the Israeli military kept the detainees in ditches, handcuffed and blindfolded, with no access to food, water or restroom facilities. The detainees were subjected to violent interrogations by Shin Bet, and their families were threatened. Many are still being held with no access to their lawyers.

The Israeli government has declined to cooperate in any way with the probe, and abandoned its own probe despite several Israeli soldiers making serious accusations. The official position is that the military acted appropriately and even admirably in the war and the killing of hundreds of Palestinian civilians. All the human rights group reports which have accused them of war crimes have been condemned as unfair.

Despite the enormous evidence to support it, the UN team says it is “too early” to determine if Israel actually committed any war crimes during the war. They are expected to submit a report sometime next month.