Israel's systematic sexual abuse of Palestinian prisoners documented

Former detainee Muhammad al‑Bakri described being stripped, blindfolded, handcuffed and repeatedly raped by Israeli soldiers and guard dogs at the Sde Teiman detention camp in the Negev desert. He said the abuse lasted 20‑30 minutes, was filmed, and was accompanied by verbal taunts. Al‑Bakri’s testimony is one of many recorded for Al Jazeera’s documentary *Bodies of Evidence: Israel’s Darkest Weapon*.

International bodies and human‑rights organisations have corroborated these accounts. A UN report released in March 2025 concluded that Israel has employed systematic sexual, reproductive and gender‑based violence against Palestinians since the October 7, 2023 conflict began. The report led to Israel’s inclusion on the UN “blacklist of sexual violence in conflict zones”. Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, B’Tselem and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights have all documented similar patterns of abuse in Israeli prisons.

In July 2024 a video of a prisoner’s rape was leaked, prompting the detention of ten Israeli security officers. Subsequent attempts by right‑wing protesters to free the guards and the eventual dropping of charges against them underscore the contentious political environment surrounding these allegations.