Episode 109 – Israel’s treatment of Palestinian detainees with Tal Steiner

Tal Steiner top left, janet right and Steph below

This week we focus on the Israeli justice system and what’s been happening in the country’s prison system.

The United Nations has accused Israel of detaining thousands of Palestinians during the war in Gaza and has alleged widespread abuse of Palestinian prisoners.

In a July 2024 report, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights claimed that prisoners were being held incommunicado in arbitrary, prolonged detention, stating that “thousands of Palestinians,” including medical staff, had been “taken from Gaza to Israel, usually shackled and blindfolded.”

To discuss this we sat down with Tal Steiner, Executive Director of The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI).

PCATI is an Israeli NGO that monitors the treatment of Palestinians in detention by Israeli security services and advocates on their behalf.

Tal talks to us about the conditions in these detention camps and the treatment of Palestinian detainees.

Trigger warning: This episode discusses instances of alleged torture.

For recommendations this week, Tal suggests reading +972 Magazine for its exposés and investigative reporting.

She also recommends examining two Israeli rulings for insight into today’s current events.

The first is the legal precedent set by PCATI in the 1999 Supreme Court decision PCATI vs The State of Israel, which Tal calls “a landmark decision.” In this ruling, the Supreme Court prohibited torture but simultaneously created a legal loophole called the “necessity defence,” which allows for torture to still occur within the Israeli security system today.

She also highlights the Unlawful Combatants Law of 2008, a ruling that states no one can be outside the protection of the law—something Tal says has been “thrown out the window” since October 7th.

This podcast has been produced as part of a partnership with JusticeInfo.net, an independent website in French and English covering justice initiatives in countries dealing with serious violence. It is a media outlet of Fondation Hirondelle, based in Lausanne, Switzerland