CNN has obtained exclusive footage of Palestinian men being held by Israeli forces near the Gaza border, in what human rights groups have denounced as a violation of international law.
The video, filmed on Saturday morning, shows more than two dozen men sitting and kneeling on the wet, cold ground – blindfolded and barefoot, their hands bound behind their backs. Israeli soldiers, their faces obscured by balaclavas, are standing guard.
Some of the men appear to be physically exhausted, with their heads falling and swaying as they attempt to remain kneeling. One detainee is laying on the ground before an Israeli soldier arrives to rouse him, propping him back up.
The men are barefoot and appear to be wearing nothing more than disposable white coveralls, despite the 10-degree Celsius temperature (50 degrees Fahrenheit).
The Israeli military said the men are “suspected of terrorist activity and were arrested in Gaza and transferred to Israel for further interrogation.”
“As part of the IDF activity in the combat area in Gaza, individuals suspected of involvement in terrorist activity are being detained and questioned. It is often necessary for terror suspects to hand over their clothes such that their clothes can be searched and to ensure that they are not concealing explosive vests or other weaponry. The suspects are given jumpsuits, and are provided with clothes upon arrival to the detention facility,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.
“Relevant suspects are taken for further questioning within Israel. Individuals who are found not to be taking part in terrorist activities are released back into Gaza, as soon as possible.”
The IDF said the men filmed on Saturday had been brought into Israel from Gaza and were about to be transferred to a “heated bus” when CNN filmed the scene, and maintained that detainees are treated in accordance with international law.
However, human rights groups have condemned the Israeli practice of detaining Palestinians in Gaza and bringing them across the border to Israel, saying it amounts to unlawful transfer and collective punishment.
“Israel’s use of administrative detention – detention without charge or trial that can be renewed indefinitely – is one of the key tools through which it has enforced its system of apartheid against Palestinians. Testimonies and video evidence also point to numerous incidents of torture and other ill-treatment by Israeli forces including severe beatings and deliberate humiliation of Palestinians who are detained in dire conditions,” said Heba Morayef, Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.
“Israel must respect the rights of all detainees, including their right to a fair trial, to humane treatment, and to contact their families. It must also end its policy of transferring Palestinians from Gaza to Israel, which violates the Fourth Geneva Convention and amounts to a war crime,” she added.
The UN has called for an immediate ceasefire and urged both sides to respect international humanitarian law and human rights. The CNN team that filmed the Palestinian detainees was in southern Israel near the Gaza border to cover the ongoing conflict, which has entered its fourth week with no sign of abating.