Imogen Foulkes
The United Nations committee on torture says it is concerned by reports indicating that Israel is operating a "de facto state policy of organised and widespread torture".
The committee regularly reviews the records of all countries which have signed the convention against torture, taking testimony from their governments, and from human rights groups.
During Israel's review both Israeli and Palestinian rights groups gave harrowing details about conditions in Israeli detention centres. It is alleged that thousands of Palestinians have been detained by Israel since the Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023.
Under Israel's laws on administrative detention and on Unlawful Combatants, suspects who cannot be classed as prisoners of war can be held for long periods without access to a lawyer or family members.
Many Palestinian families say they have waited months to even find out that a loved has been detained, amounting, the UN committee said, to "enforced disappearance".
The committee was particularly critical of Israel's reported use of the Unlawful Combatants law to detain whole groups of Palestinians, including children, pregnant women, and the elderly.
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