Eighteen months ago, Dr Hussam Abu Safiya was seized by Israeli forces and has since been held without charge or trial, according to a photograph caption by Anadolu/Getty. This case exemplifies the broader pattern of illegal detentions and abuses in Israeli prisons, as highlighted in a recent article by Nesrine Malik.
Systemic abuses embedded in state practices
In a letter to the Guardian, Gwyn Daniel, representing the UK and International Palestine Mental Health Networks, and Phil Gaunt respond to Malik's piece. They argue that illegal detentions, deaths, torture, and sexual abuse in Israeli prisons are not aberrations but deeply embedded in state practices and intentions. Malik highlighted the psychological dimension of deliberately eroding Palestinian civil society's autonomy.
Daniel, as a mental health practitioner working alongside Palestinian co-professionals, notes that practices of degradation, humiliation, and debilitation constitute attacks on minds, relationships, and bodies. These are designed to undermine family, social, and community life, destroying systems of connectivity essential for citizens, especially children, to flourish. The carceral system is part of state interventions that detain, murder, maim, and mutilate Palestinian bodies while assaulting their growth, dignity, personhood, and identity.
Western governments' complicity
Daniel emphasizes that western governments and most mainstream media act as if only the “extremist fringes” should be criticized, not the state itself. They fail to heed pronouncements from Israeli government representatives, doing a profound disservice to victims of this violent, racist, and unrestrained regime.
Phil Gaunt from Dumbarton thanks Malik for drawing attention to the brutality inflicted on Palestinians. He notes that while Andy Burnham acknowledged the British government's response to the bombardment and mass killing in Gaza “didn’t get it right,” innumerable atrocities have occurred in Gaza and the West Bank, even after a ceasefire. Sanctions on illegal settlers who attack and kill Palestinians are insufficient, as the Israeli government provides them with immunity, leaves Gazans camped amid devastation, and detains thousands without trial in reportedly dreadful conditions. Gaunt calls for the UK and Europe to act decisively on trade with Israel and take meaningful steps to end the illegal occupation of Palestine.
