Palestinian Bodybuilder’s Ordeal Highlights Israeli Prison Abuse
Moazaz Obaiyat, a 37-year-old Palestinian bodybuilder, was once muscular and strong, but his nine-month spell in Israeli custody left him unable to walk unaided upon his release in July. Before being re-arrested in October, Obaiyat was diagnosed with severe PTSD by Bethlehem Psychiatric Hospital, related to his time at Israel’s remote Ktz’iot prison.
According to medical notes seen by Reuters, Obaiyat was subjected to “physical and psychological violence and torture” in prison, and described symptoms including severe anxiety, withdrawal from his family, and avoidance of discussing traumatic events and current affairs.
Obaiyat’s case is not an isolated one. Four Palestinian men detained by Israel since the war’s outbreak after the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023, described lasting psychological scars they attributed to abuses including beatings, sleep and food deprivation, and prolonged restraint in stress positions during their time inside.
The accounts are consistent with multiple investigations by human rights groups that reported grave abuses of Palestinians in Israeli detention. An investigation published by the United Nations human rights office in August described substantiated reports of widespread “torture, sexual assault and rape, amid atrocious inhumane conditions” in prisons since the war began.
The Israeli military said it was investigating several cases of alleged abuse of Gazan detainees by military personnel but “categorically” rejected allegations of systematic abuse within its detention facilities. The Israel Prison Service and the country’s internal security service declined to comment on individual cases.
Tal Steiner, executive director of the Israeli rights group Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI), said the symptoms the men recounted were common and can echo through victims’ lifetimes, often shattering their families. “Torture in Israeli prisons has exploded since October 7. It will have and already has had a devastating effect on Palestinian society,” said Steiner.
Israel has reported mistreatment of some of the 251 of its citizens taken captive to Gaza after the Hamas attacks. A report by the Israeli Health Ministry said hostages were subjected to torture, including sexual and psychological abuse. Hamas has repeatedly denied abuse of the hostages.
Obaiyat is currently being held in a small detention centre in Etzion, south of Bethlehem, under “administrative detention”, a form of incarceration without charge or trial. At least 56 Palestinians have died in custody during the war, compared to just one or two annually in the years preceding the conflict.
The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club likened the detentions to forced disappearance. Israel’s prison service declined to comment on prisoner numbers and deaths.
The Israeli military said it launches criminal investigations of all deaths of Palestinians in its custody. Palestinian prisoner numbers have at least doubled in Israel and the West Bank to more than 10,000 during the war, PCATI estimates.
The use of torture in Israel’s prisons has been likened to terrorism by human rights scholar Professor Neve Gordon. “Terrorism usually is an act that’s limited in the number of people directly impacted, but the psychosocial effect is dramatic. It’s the same with torture,” said Gordon.
