REUTERS, Jerusalem

Israel has conducted a systematic policy of prisoner abuse and torture since the start of the Gaza offensive, subjecting Palestinian detainees to acts ranging from arbitrary violence to sexual abuse, Israeli rights group B’Tselem said in a report.

It said the report, issued on Monday, was based on interviews with 55 Palestinians from Gaza, the West Bank and Israel detained in Israeli prisons since Hamas’ attack on Israel that set off the offensive, most of them without being tried.

“The testimonies clearly indicate a systematic, institutional policy focused on the continual abuse and torture of all Palestinian prisoners held by Israel,” the report said.

The Israeli military, which runs some detention facilities where Palestinian prisoners have been held, said that it operated according to the rule of law and any specific claims of abuse were investigated.

“The IDF categorically rejects allegations of systematic abuse, including sexual abuse, in its detention facilities,” it said, adding that monitoring mechanisms were in place to ensure facilities were run in accordance with the law.

A spokesperson for the Israel Prison Service said that all prisoners were treated according to the law and all basic rights were fully applied by professionally trained guards.

“We are not aware of the claims you described and as far as we know, no such events have occurred under IPS responsibility,” the spokesperson said, adding that detainees had the right to file complaints that would be fully examined and investigated.

The B’Tselem report was issued days after the Israeli military detained nine soldiers accused of severe abuse of a prisoner in a military facility in the Negev desert. Israeli press reports said the soldiers were accused of sexually abusing a member of an elite Hamas unit.

The report detailed allegations that Palestinian prisoners were subjected to arbitrary beatings, degrading and humiliating treatment and sleep deprivation, as well as “the repeated use of sexual violence, in varying degrees of severity”.

“The overall picture indicates abuse and torture carried out under orders, in utter defiance of Israel’s obligations both under domestic law and international law,” it said.