Two Palestinian institutions demand an international investigation into the occupation's "crimes" against detainees

Yesterday, Tuesday, two Palestinian institutions called for the opening of an international investigation into Israel’s “crimes and violations” against Palestinian detainees in its prisons and to reveal the fate of the people of the Gaza Strip among them.

This came in a joint statement by the Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners’ Affairs Authority (governmental) and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club (Ahli), after Hebrew media revealed the death of Palestinian doctor Iyad Al-Rantisi from the Gaza Strip a week after his arrest.

The Commission and the Club called for “the necessity of opening an investigation under international supervision into the crimes and grave violations committed against detainees and prisoners in the occupation’s prisons and camps, as an aspect of the ongoing genocide against our people in Gaza.”

Earlier Tuesday, the Hebrew newspaper "Haaretz" (privately) said that Al-Rantisi, who was director of a women's hospital in the city of Beit Lahia in the Gaza Strip, died in an investigation center affiliated with the Israeli Internal Security Agency "Shin Bet" in the city of Ashkelon, a week after his arrest in Last November.

The two institutions said that they had no confirmation regarding what the newspaper published, and that the family of Dr. Rantissi had not been informed “by any party until today of the fate of their son, who has been detained since November 10, 2023,” but they stated that “the number of martyrs among the ranks of Gaza detainees is estimated.” "Dozens, according to the preliminary data available, in addition to the field executions that were carried out against detainees inside Gaza."

The two institutions indicated that Al-Rantisi "is a father of three children. Before his arrest, he did not suffer from any diseases or health problems. He was arrested at a military checkpoint during the ground invasion of Gaza, and he has another brother who was arrested by the occupation last January."

They affirmed that "the occupation continues to carry out the crime of enforced disappearance against Gaza detainees," and considered that "subordination of the law for this is an aspect of the ongoing war of genocide against our people."

They added that what some international press investigations revealed “confirms that the crime of torture, starvation, medical crimes, and systematic abuse, including sexual assaults, constituted direct causes of the martyrdom of prisoners and detainees, including detainees from Gaza.”

The Commission and the Club commented on “the occupation’s claim of its intention to open investigations into the conditions of detention of Gaza detainees” by saying that they are “mere allegations that do not carry any meaning for a system that practices genocide in front of the world, and carries out crimes of torture and field executions in front of camera lenses.”

They said, "The Israeli judicial system has formed and continues to constitute a fundamental pillar in consolidating all the crimes occurring today, including the ongoing crimes against prisoners and detainees." According to the two institutions, Israel arrested thousands of people from the Gaza Strip, admitted about 4,000 of them, and released 1,500, including women, children, and dozens of medical personnel.

According to what Haaretz reported, the Israeli Ministry of Justice ordered the army to conduct an investigation into the circumstances of the Palestinian doctor’s death. The Shin Bet claimed that the 53-year-old doctor was accused of “taking hostages,” while no official statement was issued by the Israeli occupation army or the Shin Bet regarding the death of Doctor Rantissi.