WORLD NEWS: Naked, tied and blindfolded: the image of a Gazan detained by Israel puts the spotlight on the treatment of Palestinian prisoners | International
World News Update:
International observers are closely monitoring the latest developments as new information continues to emerge.
Practically naked – he only wears underwear -, blindfolded, lying face down on a precarious stretcher to which he is tied with ropes and a metal stick attached to his back and with his hands tied with plastic ties. It is the shocking image of a detained Gazan spread at the end of June on the social networks of a Palestinian activist after finding it on the account of an Israeli soldier, and which was even echoed by several of the main Israeli media, which are usually skeptical of this type of content. After going viral, the Israeli army spoke out this week and confirmed that the photograph is real. The confirmation of the authenticity of the image once again reveals a reality that human rights organizations – including several Israeli ones – have been denouncing: the mistreatment and inhumane conditions in which Israel holds Palestinian prisoners. “After a thorough investigation, the incident was located. They are authentic images of an incident that occurred in the Gaza Strip. The incident does not comply with the values and regulations of the IDF (Israel Defense Forces), an investigation has been launched and those involved will be sanctioned according to the conclusions,” a military spokesperson told army radio after the image was broadcast. When asked by EL PAÍS, the Israeli army did not want to give more details about this investigation, nor about the conditions in which the detained Gazan who appears in the image is found. “Our response is the same as what we gave a few days ago,” an army source told this newspaper. The photograph came to light on June 30 when Palestinian activist Tamer Qaddoumi spread it on the social network Contacted by EL PAÍS, Qaddoumi explains that he has been following accounts of Israeli soldiers on social networks since the beginning of the Israeli offensive in Gaza. “After the publication of the photo, many Gazan families have contacted me showing themselves convinced that the Palestinian who appears in the photo is their son. They are desperate and have asked me for more information. But, unfortunately I do not have it and we have not been able to identify the man who appears in the image,” he says. And he adds: “Many of these families have lost their children for two years and do not know it. The Israeli army must publish the names of all the Gazans it has detained.” Qaddoumi identifies the author of the image as Josef Benamou, an ultra-Orthodox soldier: “At first he deleted his Instagram account, after I published the image, but then he reopened it by changing his name,” he details. The truth is that this is not the first time that images of this type have been spread on social networks. During the first months of the Israeli offensive in Gaza, several photographs have circulated on social networks in which several Gazans have appeared in a row kneeling, blindfolded and tied. The army has never confirmed them. “Ben Gvir (radical Minister of National Security) has turned prisons into torture camps. More than 100 Palestinians have been murdered by Israel in prisons since the beginning of the offensive. The figure is alarming and very worrying. This is something that we as a political party want to change,” explains to EL PAÍS the Israeli activist Yonatan Zeigen and now one of the six candidates of the new political party founded a few weeks ago, A place for Us All. Zeigen, who lost his mother in the Hamas attacks of October 2023, emphasizes: “When the first hostages were released in Israel, there was shock when they arrived home. And now our Government does the same with the Palestinians in prisons. Even if they are considered prisoners of war, Israel has to respect international law and conventions.”
Key Developments:
This event is already generating discussion among political analysts and international organizations worldwide.
International media coverage is expected to intensify as more updates become available from official sources.
Our editorial team will continue tracking this story as new reports become available.
Source: This article was originally published by Internacional en EL PAÍS and adapted for our international English-speaking audience.
Read the original article here.