Israel’s Supreme Court considers closing desert detention camp for Gaza prisoners after CNN investigation into abuses

CNN
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On Wednesday, Israel’s Supreme Court discussed for the first time the closure of the Sde Teiman desert detention camp, where Palestinian prisoners from the Gaza Strip are allegedly being held under extremely abusive conditions.

The hearing comes in response to a petition by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) and other human rights groups, which relied heavily on CNN’s coverage of the makeshift prison to call for its closure.

CNN’s investigation, in which Israeli whistleblowers as well as former Palestinian detainees and eyewitnesses described horrific conditions at the facility, including constant blindfolding and handcuffing, sparked an international outcry.

The White House called the allegations in CNN’s report “deeply concerning” and said it was reaching out to Israeli authorities for answers. The German Foreign Ministry condemned the reported practices and said it was working to ensure that the International Committee of the Red Cross had access to the camp and other prisons.

In the wake of CNN’s investigation, United Nations Special Rapporteur on torture and unlawful combatants Alice Jill Edwards called on Israel to investigate allegations of torture and ill-treatment of detained Palestinians.

Last week, Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said the military had launched an investigation into allegations of abuses in Sde Teiman and in Anatot and Ofer, two other military detention camps for Palestinians from Gaza. The committee investigating the conditions of Palestinian prisoners from Gaza is expected to present its recommendations to Halevi later this month.

On May 10, CNN published an investigation into Sde Teiman, a military base in the Negev desert that also served as an internment camp for Palestinians detained during Israel’s Gaza war, which began after the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7.

Three Israeli whistleblowers told CNN that Palestinian prisoners at the facility were constantly blindfolded and kept under extreme physical restraints. Doctors sometimes amputated prisoners’ limbs because they sustained injuries from being constantly handcuffed, one whistleblower said. The report matched details of a letter written by a doctor working at Sde Teiman that Haaretz published in April.

According to reports, the camp, located about 30 kilometers from the Gaza border, is divided into two parts: enclosed areas where dozens of Gazan prisoners are held, and a field hospital where wounded prisoners are blindfolded, strapped to their beds, wearing diapers and being fed through straws.

In a May 20 response to a petition by the human rights group Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI), the Israeli government said it was committed to “reducing the number of detainees held in military facilities in general and in the Sde Teiman facility in particular. The intention is to use this facility as a reception, interrogation and initial sorting facility, and to detain prisoners only for short periods of time.”

When asked by CNN for comment on all the allegations made in its May 10 report, the Israeli military, known as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), responded in a statement: “The IDF ensures appropriate conduct towards detainees. Any allegation of misconduct by IDF soldiers is investigated and dealt with accordingly. In appropriate cases, investigations by the MPCID (Military Police Criminal Investigation’s Division) are initiated when there is suspicion of misconduct that justifies such action.”

“The handcuffs are applied to the prisoners depending on their level of danger and state of health. The authorities are not aware of any cases of unlawful handcuffing.”

The Israel Defense Forces have not directly denied reports that people have been stripped of their clothes or held in diapers. The Israeli military has instead stated that prisoners will have their clothes returned once the Israel Defense Forces determine that they do not pose a security threat.

CNN’s Ami Kaufman contributed to this report.