"My Hands Were Paralyzed from Torture": Gazans Reveal Horrors of Israel’s Ofer Detention Center
Al Jazeera Net – 22/12/2024
In February this year, the Israeli army raided Al-Shifa Hospital and arrested a Palestinian citizen from Gaza, Rami, without any charges. The 42-year-old man was taken to Sde Teiman Detention Camp, known as "Israel's Guantanamo," where he, like thousands of other Gazans held there, suffered severe abuses at the hands of guards.
When Rami thought he was nearing release, he was transferred to Ofer Military Detention Center, located between occupied Jerusalem and the West Bank, only to discover it was no less brutal than the previous camp.
This is how photojournalist Oren Ziv began his report for 972 Magazine, recounting the horrors of the detention center based on testimonies from 19 Gazan detainees, some of whom remain in custody and could only share their accounts through lawyers from the Israeli human rights organization HaMoked.
According to the report, Israel established the Ofer Military Detention Center in the West Bank during the current war on Gaza. Lawyers initially believed it was a temporary holding facility leading to civilian prisons or the nearby well-known Ofer Prison. However, some detainees have been held there without charges since May.
The detainees' testimonies indicate that Ofer has become the successor to Sde Teiman Prison, matching its level of abuse. After global attention and widespread criticism of Sde Teiman, it was converted into a "transit camp," where Gazans are either sent back to Gaza or transferred to the main Ofer Prison. As a less-known facility, the Ofer Detention Center provides Israeli authorities with cover to continue their violations against detainees.
Gazans detained at Ofer described daily beatings, often carried out for the guards' amusement. One detainee reported that a fellow prisoner was beaten to death. Others described constant humiliation and severe overcrowding, which led to skin diseases.
Rami told the magazine that detainees spend their days with their hands and feet shackled, even while sleeping, eating, or using the bathroom. They are allowed to shower only once a week or once every three weeks for a few minutes, during which they must also wash their clothes.
One detainee recounted having to bathe with floor cleaner due to a lack of proper supplies, and prisoners were given a single roll of toilet paper to share among themselves.
Rafiq, a 59-year-old detainee, described the extreme food shortages and poor quality of meals, saying they were given just one daily meal consisting of stale bread slices. He revealed that he lost 43 kilograms during his detention due to malnutrition. A 32-year-old detainee, also arrested at Al-Shifa Hospital, said, “All prisoners lost between 20 to 30 kilograms of weight, at least.”
Rafiq added, “I suffered the same humiliation, insults, and torture as I did at Sde Teiman. My hands became paralyzed from the constant torture. After my release, I had to resort to psychiatric medications. Now, I walk tens of kilometers every day just to exhaust myself enough to sleep.”
According to the report, some Gazans did not know they were held at Ofer Detention Center until weeks or even months after their arrest, often learning their location during meetings with lawyers. Detainees usually undergo extremely brief legal proceedings consisting of three-minute Zoom hearings, during which they are accused of “supporting terrorism” and informed that they will remain detained “until the end of the war.”
A 66-year-old teacher said he was arrested from his home in Rafah in May 2024, accused of belonging to a terrorist organization, and only learned he was in Ofer in October.
A father of three, aged 48, arrested from his home in Gaza in March 2024, said Israeli soldiers told him: “We know you have nothing to do with the October 7 operation, but we are sure you have information about Hamas.”
According to a 26-year-old detainee, prisoners only leave their cells to meet with lawyers. During these meetings, all cellmates are shackled, blindfolded, and forced to lie on their stomachs throughout the visit, making these encounters a dreaded ordeal.
Source: Israeli Press