The practice, routine for decades, was eventually reviewed by the Supreme Court of Israel in 1999, which found that "coercive interrogation" of Palestinians had been widespread, and deemed it unlawful, though permissible in certain cases.
In private, however, Prime Minister Menachem Begin ordered a curtailing of the use of violent interrogation techniques, after which the allegations of torture decreased for the next several years.
[22] Former inmates of the secret detention centre Camp 1391, whose existence is not even officially acknowledged, claim sexual harassment, even rape, forms part of the interrogation techniques.
[5] In the First Intifada, other than prolonged beatings, people, including children, could be smeared with vomit or urine, be confined in a "coffin", be suspended by the wrists; be denied food and water or access to toilets, or be threatened to have their sisters, wives or mothers raped.
During the Human Rights Watch reported in 2002 that over 300 Palestinian minors had been tortured through beating, deprivation of sleep and dousing with freezing water.
Israeli human rights group B'Tselem reported similarly in 2001 that Palestinian minors had their heads covered and subject to severe beatings and other abuse.
"[32][33] One major case, in which 20 men from Beita and Huwara were taken from their homes, gagged and bound hand and foot and then had their limbs broken with clubs, eventually reached the Israeli Supreme Court.
[36] A roadside bomb in 2019 leading to the death of an Israeli girl triggered a manhunt by the Shin Bet where up to 50 Palestinians were rounded up and reportedly subjected to some form of torture.
"[41] On December 3, the United Nations Human Rights Office in the occupied Palestinian territories called for an investigation into allegations of torture.
[42] In a statement, the Office said: "The massive rise in number of Palestinians arrested and detained, the number of reports of ill-treatment and humiliation suffered by those in custody, and the reported failure to adhere to basic due process raise serious questions about Israel's compliance with international humanitarian law and international human rights law.
[44][45] The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI) stated that there was a "lot of evidence of cases of violence and cruel and humiliating treatment by prison guards", and called for an investigation into the deaths of detainees in Israeli custody.
[47] On January 3, 2024, Human Rights Watch reported that Palestinian workers from Gaza detained in Israel since October 7 had been photographed naked, attacked by dogs, and dragged faced down in the gravel.