Gaza Herald_ An Israeli government report acknowledged on Wednesday that Palestinian prisoners were denied access to drinking water for periods of up to 12 hours as a form of collective punishment during Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.
Findings by Israel’s Public Defense Authority
The admission came in a report issued by Israel’s Public Defense Authority, which operates under the Ministry of Justice, following prison visits conducted by its representatives in 2024, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
Water Cut Off for Hours at a Time
Haaretz reported that during the war, Palestinian detainees were deliberately prevented from accessing drinking water as collective punishment, sometimes for several hours and, in some cases, for as long as half a day. These findings were documented by representatives of the Public Defense Authority who visited so-called “security prisons” throughout 2024.
Legal Challenge and Delayed Disclosure
In January, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel filed a petition with a court in occupied Jerusalem demanding the release of these reports. Israeli authorities initially refused, claiming that publication would harm state security because Israeli captives were still being held in Gaza at the time.
However, the newspaper reported on Tuesday that the Ministry of Justice has now handed over six reports to the organization, citing changed circumstances that made disclosure possible.
Visits to Ketziot Prison
The reports are based on three visits by representatives of the Public Defense Authority to Ketziot Prison, located in the Negev Desert, carried out in May, June, and September 2024.
Systematic Restriction of Water Access
One of the reports stated that findings from the first two visits showed that policies restricting access to water were enforced in at least some prison sections, resulting in Palestinian prisoners being denied continuous access to drinking water during certain hours of the day.
