Torture has become a widespread tool of Israel's policy: UN Committee

Ahram Online , Thursday 13 Nov 2025

The UN Committee Against Torture (CAT) questioned Israel on Tuesday and Wednesday over multiple reports of the torture of Palestinian detainees, particularly since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza, saying, that "torture has become a deliberate and widespread tool of state policy."

Israeli soldiers detain a Palestinian youth. AFP

During Israel's periodic review, the UN committee said that this torture policy is "employed across all legal, administrative, and operational systems, from arrest to interrogation to imprisonment."

"The committee has been deeply appalled by the description we have received in a large number of alternative reports of what appears to be systematic and widespread torture and ill-treatment of Palestinians, including children and vulnerable groups," the CAT's rapporteur Peter Vedel Kessing said.

The CAT is composed of 10 independent experts responsible for overseeing how states party to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment are implementing it.

The Committee seeks to ensure state accountability for human rights abuses by systematically examining reports of torture to halt and prevent such acts.

Citing reports submitted to the committee, Kessing stated that since the onset of the Israeli war on Gaza, instances of torture and ill-treatment have intensified, reaching "unprecedented levels" and being carried out with impunity.

According to Kessing, those reports were provided by various UN bodies, as well as Israeli, Palestinian, and international non-governmental organizations, among other sources.

"Many of those detained and subsequently released have reportedly been subject to torture and other ill-treatment," said Kessing.

He cited examples of such practices, including "severe beatings, including on the genitals; electric shocks; being forced to remain in stress positions in prolonged periods; deliberate inhuman conditions and starvation; waterboarding; and widespread sexual insults and threats of rape."

Overall, the course of the Israeli war on Gaza, countless testimonials, accounts, and pieces of evidence surfaced documenting the torture of Palestinian detainees.

The 83rd session of the Committee is currently running, aiming to conduct periodic reviews for Albania, Argentina, Bahrain and Israel from 10 to 28 November.