Shackled all day and beaten: Palestinians tortured at Israel’s Ofer detention camp, report reveals
Israeli authorities have been accused of torturing Palestinians at the Ofer detention camp, which was established during the ongoing war to hold detainees from Gaza, a new report has revealed.
The camp, a military-administered facility, is located next to a prison with the same name, between Jerusalem and Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.
According to 19 testimonies given to +972 and Local Call, the site has witnessed torture and ill-treatment of Palestinian detainees, mirroring what has been reported at the notorious Sde Teiman prison.
Rami, a former Palestinian detainee at Ofer, described the facility as no less brutal than Sde Teiman.
“I was severely tortured,” Rami said. “We were forced to kneel with our hands tied from sunrise until midnight. Guards beat us on every part of our bodies. I was given electric shocks every two days.”
New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch
Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters
The torture was carried out against all inmates without exceptions, he added.
“All detainees at Ofer were tortured, beaten and humiliated. We received food only once a day.”
Rami, a 42-year-old, was first arrested by the Israeli army at al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza in February and was then held at the Sde Teiman detention centre, the report said.
He was later transferred to Ofer. “I thought I was being returned to Gaza, but I found myself in another prison,” he said.
According to testimonies from current and former prisoners, Palestinians in Ofer report severe mistreatment, including being handcuffed and shackled 24 hours a day, seven days a week - even while sleeping, eating and using the restroom. Inmates are allowed only brief weekly showers.
Testimonies also describe regular beatings by guards, extreme overcrowding, humiliation and inadequate hygiene, with one account alleging a beating resulting in death.
Those held at the camp are classified as “unlawful combatants" and do not enjoy due process. They are charged with supporting terrorism and are held indefinitely.
According to the Israeli human rights group HaMoked, as of December 2024, Ofer holds 1,772 Palestinians who are classified as “unlawful combatants".
They are under the authority of the Israel Prison Service (IPS).
Hands paralysed due to torture
The Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, a Palestinian prisoner's organisation, reported in July incidents of abuse in Ofer prison targeting Palestinians transferred from Sde Teiman.
Sde Teiman has also come under scrutiny after investigations and reports earlier this year exposed severe torture inflicted on prisoners abducted from Gaza after October 2023.
Following the revelations, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir confirmed that conditions inside Israeli prisons “have indeed worsened" since the war on Gaza began, adding: "I am proud of that.”
Rafiq, a former Palestinian detainee held at both Sde Teiman and Ofer, compared the two prisons. He noted that Ofer allowed detainees to stand and pray with access to a Quran, whereas at Sde Teiman, prisoners were forced to kneel all day.
However, unlike Sde Teiman, Ofer has largely been overlooked by international media.
Rafiq, a 59-year-old from Gaza, recounted harrowing experiences at both facilities, describing torture, humiliation and the constant fear of never seeing his family again.
“One of the young men detained with us was killed during his release. [The soldiers] struck him on the head, and he died immediately,” he said.
“I lost 43kg during my detention due to the lack of food. The only comfort I had was thinking about my family, which helped me dissociate from the reality of imprisonment.”
Rafiq was released after a month in detention, but the torture has left him physically and mentally bruised.
“My hands are paralysed because of the torture, and I am taking heavy psychiatric medications. I walk dozens of kilometres every day to exhaust myself so I can sleep. I lost my life because of that detention.”
Middle East Eye delivers independent and unrivalled coverage and analysis of the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. To learn more about republishing this content and the associated fees, please fill out this form. More about MEE can be found here.
