Israel's Far-Right Minister Ben-Gvir Extends Visitor Ban for Palestinian Prisoners
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Israeli regime's security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, extended a ban on visits to Palestinian prisoners for another month, maintaining a restriction in place since the start of Israel's genocidal war on Gaza.
This ban has been enforced since the Zionist regime launched its brutal military operations in Gaza on October 7, 2023.
Showing his hatred towards Palestinians in a social media post, Ben-Gvir stated, "The damned terrorists deserve the minimum provided by law."
He added, "This is how I act and this is how I will continue to act."
Reports indicate that Palestinian prisoners, many of whom are detained without charge or trial, have not received visits since October 2023.
Qadura Fares, head of the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs in Palestine, commented on the situation last week.
"Under Ben-Gvir’s orders, the already grave conditions in Israeli prisons have been made even worse," Fares wrote.
He further stated, "The use of torture, including rape and beatings, has become widespread. There have been shocking reports about prison guards urinating on detainees, torturing them with electric shock, and using dogs to sexually assault them."
Fares concluded by saying, "The systemic use of torture and other ill-treatment has predictably gone as far as extrajudicial killings."
B'Tselem, an Israeli human rights group, has released a major new report detailing how the Israeli prison system has become "a network of torture camps," with physical, psychological, and sexual abuse of Palestinian prisoners becoming normalized and routine.
The report, titled "Welcome to Hell," compiles the testimony of 55 Palestinians detained by Israeli authorities since October 7 and later released, nearly all without charge. This comes as a group of United Nations experts condemned widespread torture of Palestinians and Israel's Channel 12 News aired shocking footage of Israeli soldiers sexually abusing a prisoner at the Sde Teiman army base, which houses thousands of Gaza detainees.
Sarit Michaeli, the international advocacy lead for B’Tselem, says the abuse in Israeli prisons is “systemic, ongoing and state-sanctioned,” reflecting the cruelty and thirst for revenge among a growing number of Israelis. “They would like to have a completely open field in terms of what they can do to Palestinians,” says Michaeli.
