Israeli guard says conditions for Palestinian prisoners 'made his stomach turn'

The State Department said it had seen the video and called reports of the sexual abuse of detainees in the prison "horrific". By ITV News Senior International Correspondent John Irvine and Aisha Kherallah

An Israeli detention guard turned whistleblower who leaked a photograph of a Palestinian prisoner forced to stand in a stress position has told ITV News that what he witnessed "made his stomach turn".

The guard, who wishes to remain anonymous to protect his identity, said his experiences in the prison would shock "anyone with a conscience."

“To the person in the photo, I will say that I’ll probably never understand what being in that prison for that long was really like," he said.

“I’m sorry for his loss and for everything he endured. I hope that we will know better days than this.”

ITV News managed to speak to the prisoner in question, who was recently released and has returned to the southern Gaza strip.

Ibrahim Salem said he was forced to stand on one leg for six hours.

"Every time I put my foot down he shouted at me saying I would have to stand longer," he said.

“In the end I said I’m putting my foot down and you can keep me here as long as you want. I stayed standing for six hours,” he added.

When asked what he thought of the anonymous guard who had taken, and leaked, the image, he said: "I thank him and wish he would leak a lot more.

"I was surprised that there was a human in there who sympathised with me. I couldn’t believe it."

It comes after CCTV video emerged appearing to show Israeli guards raping a Palestinian prisoner with foreign objects, in an attack that lasted over ten minutes.

The footage appears to show some guards holding up riot shields, and swapping roles.

The prisoner was later taken to hospital in a life-threatening condition.

Last week, a mob of right-wing Israelis, including three members of the country's Parliament, attempted to storm a jail where prison guards were being held on suspicion of the attack. Protesters demanded the guards be given immunity.

The IDF has said its Military Police Criminal Investigation Division (MPCID) was formally looking into the allegations, and hasn't commented on the video.

In early July there were over 9,500 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, according to a recent report published by Israeli Human Rights Organisation B'Tselem. Almost half were detained without trial, the group claims.

The number of prisoners held at the beginning of July is almost double the number held before the current war between Israeli and militant groups in the Gaza Strip began in October last year.

Speaking after allegations of rape, torture and abuse in Israeli jails emerged, the White House described reports as "deeply concerning".

At a press conference on Wednesday, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the US government has been clear with Israel that all detainees must be treated in accordance with international law.

A number of human rights organisations are calling for the Sde Teiman facility to be closed down, but lawyers representing the state of Israel have insisted the rights groups' claims of deplorable conditions are inaccurate.

Human Rights Organisation B'tselem has claimed that evidence it's gathered from former prisoners demonstrates a "systemic, institutional policy focused on the continual abuse and torture of all Palestinian prisoners held by Israel."

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