MADRID- Recently, several media outlets have exposed new accounts of brutality by the Zionist regime against Palestinians. In recent weeks, the Zionist colonial regime released 55 Palestinian prisoners who were detained in Gaza during the genocidal operation initiated by Israel months ago.

The released prisoners have described the horrific torture and harsh conditions they endured in colonial prisons. "Tortured, beaten and subjected to verbal and physical abuse; only God knows. Please, free them and take them out of that hell," stated Faraj al-Samouni, a Palestinian prisoner released from Zionist regime's prisons on Monday, July 1.

Since the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories in 1967, torture as well as cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment of Palestinian prisoners have been widely employed and constitute a fundamental part of the official policy of the Israeli army and its security apparatuses. Although the methods and intensity of torture have varied over time, this practice has been systematic and legitimized by Israel's judicial system and government, reflecting the complicity of all colonial institutions in the erasure of the native Palestinian presence.

Since at least 1967, the Israeli General Security Service (Shin Bet) has employed both physical and psychological torture against Palestinian prisoners without legal justification. This was made possible by Israel's designation of the Palestinian territories as 'exceptional' circumstances, which allowed for systematic torture of Palestinians.

In Palestine, there is a popular saying: "In every Palestinian home, you will find a prisoner or a former prisoner." This statement sadly reflects a palpable reality.

Palestinian human rights organizations have documented that approximately one in five Palestinians has been arrested and prosecuted in Israeli military courts since the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 1967.

Each year, between 500 and 700 Palestinian children are detained and prosecuted in Israeli military courts.

During the ongoing genocidal war across Palestine, Israeli carceral violence and arrest campaigns have significantly intensified. In the months leading up to October 7th, approximately 5,200 Palestinians were detained in Israeli prisons. Since then, that number has risen to over 9,000 detainees. In just the last five months, Israeli occupying forces have arrested over 7,600 Palestinians in the West Bank, in addition to an unknown number in Gaza.

Immediately after the start of the genocide, the colonial forces in charge of the prisons subjected the prisoners to total isolation. They were prohibited from leaving their cells, and access to water and electricity was severely restricted. Medical care, already inadequate, was suspended, and insufficient food distribution began, leading to cases of malnutrition among Palestinian prisoners. Additionally, visits from family members and delegates of the International Committee of the Red Cross were prohibited, and lawyer visits were severely limited, leaving the prisoners completely isolated from the outside world.

Minors are not exempt from the suffering of imprisonment and torture within the Israeli military system, and they are almost always denied the presence of a guardian during interrogations. An example occurred in 2010, when Israeli border police arrested a 16-years old boy in his hometown in Abu Dis. During his arrest, the police broke his leg and beat him, intentionally kicking his injured leg. He was interrogated for five consecutive days and faced death threats and sexual assault. 

According to various reports from Palestinian organizations, the most common torture methods used by occupying forces include:

1. Stress positions: Detainees are placed in stressful positions, often with hands tied behind their backs and feet shackled, while being forced to lean forward. They are left in these positions for prolonged periods during the interrogation process.

2. Beatings: Detainees frequently endure beatings, either with hands or objects, sometimes resulting in unconsciousness.

3. Solitary confinement: Detainees are placed in isolation or solitary confinement for extended periods.

4. Sleep deprivation: Detainees are prevented from resting or sleeping and subjected to long interrogation sessions.

5. Sexual torture: Palestinian men, women, and children are subjected to rape, physical harassment, and threats of sexual violence. Verbal sexual harassment is particularly common, where detainees are exposed to comments about themselves or their families. This type of torture is often considered effective because the shame surrounding sexual violence prevents detainees from disclosing it.

6. Threats to family members: Detainees hear threats of violence against family members to pressure them into revealing information. There have been cases where relatives have been arrested and interrogated in nearby rooms so that the detainee can hear how they are being tortured.

Through an intricate web of laws and military orders, Palestinians are racialized—a sociopolitical process whereby groups are viewed as distinct "races" and ranked in a social hierarchy.

The Israeli prison system categorizes Palestinians as inherently "criminals" and therefore deserving of punishment.

Following the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 1967, the Israeli army acquired supreme authority over the governance, legislation, and punishment of the Palestinian population. This includes prosecuting Palestinians in military courts and charging them under nearly 1,800 military orders that regulate all aspects of daily life: behavior, property, movement, evacuation, land expropriation, detention, interrogation, and trial.

The Israeli prison system categorizes Palestinians as inherently "criminals" and, therefore, deserving of punishment.

These orders allow for the indefinite detention of Palestinians without charge or trial, a policy inherited from British colonial practices. In early March, more than 3,500 Palestinians were detained under these conditions.

Within this prison reality, Israel labels most Palestinian prisoners as "security prisoners." This designation masks the political nature of their imprisonment and justifies the violations against them. In contrast, Jewish settler-citizens incarcerated receive rights such as making phone calls, home visits under custody, the possibility of permits, and conjugal visits. These rights are mostly denied to Palestinian security prisoners, who are perceived and racialized as criminals from the outset.

Nevertheless, Palestinians courageously continue to resist the colonial regime that racializes, dehumanizes, and seeks to eliminate them. This refusal to submit to power and violence was reflected by a Palestinian prisoner who recently marked 23 years in captivity. Behind bulletproof glass, frail and exhausted, the prisoner described his dreams of freedom and unwavering determination not to yield in his quest for liberation under brutal Zionist colonial oppression.