Israel’s Ofa military prison in the occupied West Bank File photo: AFP
A released Palestinian prisoner said that Israeli soldiers threw acid and other flammable chemicals on him while he was in remand custody.
The Palestinian who described such atrocities by Israeli soldiers is Mohammed Abu Tabila. Abu Tabila was abducted after the start of Israel’s aggression on the Palestinian Gaza Strip in October 2023.
Abu Tabila said that he was also severely beaten. His eyes were not spared. He made these remarks while recounting his brutal experience in Israeli military custody to local media.
Abu Tabila also said that Israeli soldiers abducted him from an area near the Civil Affairs Office in Gaza City and took him to a house belonging to the al-Yazzi family.
His injured eye was further damaged by the effects of acid and other chemicals. A soldier would tightly bandage his eyes with a cloth. This caused constant irritation and pain in the affected area due to the effects of the chemicals.
The house was stocked with acid, chlorine, dishwashing liquid, laundry detergent, soap and air freshener. Abu Tabila said the soldiers burned his body with these flammable chemicals.
Abu Tabila said that after burning his body, the soldiers sent him to the occupied West Bank after examining his condition. He showed reporters the scars on his back, hands and face from the brutal torture.
“My eyes were not spared (from the torture). One of the soldiers would punch me in the eyes with a gloved hand wrapped in something hard. At one point during the beating, I would fall to the ground,” said the Palestinian.
Abu Tabila said that his injured eyes were further damaged by the effects of acid and other chemicals. He also said that a soldier would tightly bind his eyes with a cloth. This caused constant burning and pain in the affected area due to the effects of the chemicals.
Abu Tabila said that he was tortured in various places in the occupied West Bank, in addition to that house. The types of torture ranged from beatings to insults and mockery. Hunger and sitting in the bitter cold were punishments, Tabila said.
My eyes were not spared either (from the torture). One of the soldiers would punch me in the eyes with a gloved hand wrapped in something hard. At one point during the beating, I would fall to the ground.
Mohammed Abu Tabila, former Palestinian prisoner
The Palestinian said that while he was in military custody, he was not given any clothes. Not even a blanket to protect him from the cold. He was held for a month and a half and then sent to Al-Ramla Hospital in a state of injury.
After two to three weeks in the hospital, Abu Tabila was transferred to the infamous Ofa military prison.
Widespread torture in Israeli prisons
According to testimonies from Palestinians held in Israeli prisons and released prisoners, the country’s authorities have previously accused the country of widespread torture of prisoners.
Some of the forms of torture include being handcuffed and shackled 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They even restrained him while sleeping, eating, and going to the bathroom.
Recently, a video was posted on social media by Israeli far-right politician Itamar Ben-Gevi, showing him torturing and humiliating Palestinian prisoners at the Keziat prison in the Negev desert.
Recently, the social media platform Xe posted a video of Israeli far-right politician Itamar Ben Gevi. It shows him torturing and humiliating Palestinian prisoners in the Keziat prison in the Negev desert.
In one scene of the video, a prisoner is seen kneeling and painting on the prison wall. At that time, an Israeli soldier was pointing a gun at him.
Regarding Ben Gevi’s scene, Xe wrote, “The prison wall had Palestinian resistance slogans written on it. The prisoner was forced to cover up the writing by painting it like this.”
