It is a simple proposition: whatever our views on the Middle East conflict, we should be able to unite in condemning rape.
Supporters of Israel made that point after the brutal sexual assaults against Israeli women during the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack. Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, and US senators rightly called on “all civilised leaders” to “speak up.”
And yet, in wrenching interviews, Palestinians have recounted a pattern of widespread Israeli sexual violence against men, women, and even children — perpetrated by soldiers, settlers, interrogators in the Shin Bet security agency, and, above all, prison guards.
While there is no evidence that Israeli leaders order rapes, they have built a security apparatus where sexual violence has become, as a United Nations report put it, one of Israel’s “standard operating procedures” and “a major element in the ill treatment of Palestinians.” A report from the Geneva-based Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor concludes that Israel employs “systematic sexual violence” practised as part of an organised state policy.
What does this look like? Sami al-Sai, 46, a freelance journalist, says that as he was being taken to a prison cell in 2024, guards threw him to the ground. “They were all hitting me, and one stepped on my head and neck,” he said. One of the guards pulled out a rubber baton used to beat prisoners.
“They were trying to force it into my rectum, and I was bracing myself to prevent it, but I couldn’t,” he said, speaking with increasing anxiety. The guards were laughing at him. He recalled they then used a carrot. “I was praying for death.”
Al-Sai was blindfolded and heard someone say in Hebrew, “don’t take photos,” suggesting a camera was present. One of the guards was a woman who, he said, grabbed him by the genitals and squeezed until he screamed from pain. After he was dumped into his cell, he found other people’s vomit, blood, and broken teeth crushed into his skin — signs that the spot where he had been raped had been used before.
Al-Sai believes the purpose of his imprisonment under the administrative detention system was to pressure him to become an informant. Because he prided himself on his journalistic professionalism, he refused.
I’ve had a career covering war, genocide, and atrocities. In the Tigray conflict in Ethiopia, 100,000 women may have been raped. Mass rape is now unfolding in Sudan. Yet, because American tax dollars subsidise the Israeli security establishment, this is sexual violence in which the United States is complicit.
I became interested in reporting on these assaults after Issa Amro, a nonviolent activist, told me he had been sexually assaulted by Israeli soldiers and believed it was common but underreported due to shame.
By one count, Israel has detained 20,000 people in the West Bank alone since October 7, with more than 9,000 Palestinians still held as of this month. Many are detained under ill-defined security grounds and denied visits from the Red Cross or lawyers.
“Israeli forces systematically employ rape and sexual torture to humiliate Palestinian female detainees,” the Euro-Med report stated. It cited a 42-year-old woman who said she had been shackled naked to a table as soldiers forcibly had sex with her over two days while others filmed. She was later shown the photos and told they would be published if she did not cooperate with intelligence.
It is impossible to know how common these assaults are. My reporting is based on conversations with 14 men and women who said they had been assaulted by settlers or security forces. I also spoke to family members, investigators, and officials.
I found these victims through lawyers, human rights groups, and aid workers. In many cases, it was possible to corroborate stories through witnesses or confidants; in others, it was not, perhaps because shame left people reluctant to acknowledge abuse even to loved ones.
Save the Children commissioned a survey of children ages 12 to 17 who had been in Israeli detention; more than half reported witnessing or experiencing sexual violence. The organisation noted the true figure was likely higher because of stigma. Similarly, the Committee to Protect Journalists surveyed 59 released Palestinian journalists; 3% said they had been raped, and 29% reported other forms of sexual violence.
The Israeli government rejects suggestions that it sexually abuses Palestinians, just as Hamas denied raping Israeli women. Israel welcomed a UN report documenting assaults against Israeli women but rejected calls to investigate Israeli assaults against Palestinians. Netanyahu has denounced “baseless accusations” against Israel.
Israel’s Ministry of National Security declined to comment. The prison service “categorically rejects the allegations,” adding that complaints are “examined by the competent authorities.” A spokesperson declined to say whether any staff member had ever been fired or prosecuted for sexual assault.
The Palestinians I interviewed recounted various kinds of abuse beyond rape. Many reported having their genitals yanked or beaten. Hand-held metal detectors were used to probe between men’s naked legs and then smashed into their private parts; according to Euro-Med, some men had to have their testicles amputated after such beatings.
One reason these abuses don’t receive more attention is threats by Israeli authorities, who warn prisoners on release to keep quiet. Another reason is that Arab society discourages discussing the topic for fear of hurting the morale of families and undermining the narrative of heroic detainees.
The New York Times