Elias Akleh’s report exposes the savage, systematic torture and sexual abuse Palestinian prisoners suffer at the hands of Israeli forces.

A leaked video from Sde Teiman prison showing Israeli soldiers and a dog raping and torturing a Palestinian prisoner has finally uncovered decades of hidden horrors Palestinians endured, silenced by the shame of sexual violence.

The release of a controversial video has sparked widespread outrage across Israel, not due to the atrocities it revealed, but because the acts were brought to light. Protesters gathered outside the Supreme Court with an unusual demand: they sought to protect what they termed as soldiers’ “right to rape Palestinians” and called for action against Major General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, who was responsible for the leak. In a brazen display of support, prominent politicians and media figures defended the soldiers, with the nation’s finance minister even praising them as heroes.

Grim accounts from the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights reveal a horrific reality where forced nudity, electrocution, repeated sexual assaults, and the use of objects and trained dogs are part of systematic abuse. Their comprehensive report, spanning 129 pages and based on 153 testimonies, exposes Israeli prisons as sites where sexual violence is employed as a method of oppression and a tool for genocide.

This isn’t merely a scandal—it’s a reflection of a deeply disturbed culture that unabashedly celebrates these heinous acts. Soldiers frequently share videos in which they mock their victims, donning garments stolen from Palestinian women and flaunting their transgressions on social media. Meanwhile, Israeli leaders and the press propagate falsehoods to rationalize their war crimes, shifting blame onto Hamas for offenses they commit without consequence.

The evidence is undeniable: the Israeli military’s use of torture and sexual violence is a deliberate strategy against Palestinians. The report and accompanying footage serve as vital evidence of the horrors that Israel attempts to conceal but can no longer refute.

The truth is clear: the Israeli military’s policy of torture and sexual violence is a weapon against Palestinians. This report and the videos it includes are essential documents that expose the horror Israel tries to hide but can no longer deny.