Calls for Independent Investigations and Accountability for Perpetrators of Israeli Crimes
Complicity of the Israeli Judicial System Signals an Increase in Deaths inside Israeli Prisons
18 July 2026
Day by day, further evidence continues to emerge of the atrocities committed as part of the ongoing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. These crimes have not been confined to Gaza itself but have also extended to Israeli prisons inside the occupying State, which have been transformed into sites of death and systematic, brutal torture. Even more alarming is Israel’s continued policy of withholding information and obstructing international oversight of the conditions of Palestinian detainees in its prisons, raising serious concerns that grave violations of international law are being deliberately concealedReports of deaths inside Israeli detention facilities continue to surface, often without any official explanation. However, testimonies collected by Al Mezan’s lawyers during visits to a number of detainees reveal unprecedented and extremely brutal patterns of torture, reinforcing suspicions that many of these deaths resulted from direct killing or torture leading to death
According to Al Mezan Center for Human Rights’ monitoring of the conditions of detainees and released prisoners, as well as an investigation published by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz on 17 July 2026, the Israeli military opened dozens of investigations into the deaths of Palestinian detainees while in custody. None of these investigations resulted in criminal indictments against those responsible, despite the fact that most of the deaths occurred inside military detention facilities equipped with permanent surveillance cameras and where numerous detainees were present as potential witnesses
Data obtained through freedom of information requests submitted by Israeli public interest organizations indicate that 57 criminal investigations were opened into deaths in custody—56 involving Palestinians from Gaza and one involving a Lebanese detainee. Seven of these investigations concerned fatal shootings. In two of those seven cases, the military reportedly could not even determine when the shooting had occurred. Moreover, in the majority of the criminal investigations, the military stated that it had been unable to identify any suspects
In a separate but related matter, the Israeli authorities continue to refuse the release of 43 Palestinian detainees from the Gaza Strip whose prison sentences have already expired, some of whom had completed sentences of up to ten years. Instead of releasing them, Israel has continued to detain them under the Unlawful Combatants Law, legislation that openly violates the right to fair trial guarantees by allowing detention without legal justification, without filing criminal charges, and without providing detainees with a meaningful opportunity to defend themselves. Under the law, detention orders may be renewed every six months for an indefinite period
It is worth noting that the Israeli Knesset enacted the Unlawful Combatants Law in March 2002. Since 2005, it has been applied exclusively to detainees from the Gaza Strip. Israel is therefore not only holding Palestinians as hostages but is also treating them as human test subjects under the silence of the international community
Al Mezan Center for Human Rights affirms that the continued detention of Palestinian prisoners after the completion of their sentences constitutes arbitrary and unlawful deprivation of liberty, in violation of international law, particularly international standards governing fair trial guarantees
Al Mezan further considers that closing investigations into the deaths of Palestinian detainees without filing indictments or securing judicial accountability serves to entrench Israel’s policy of circumventing the complementary jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) by conducting superficial or ineffective investigations designed to shield perpetrators from international accountability. This, according to the Center, confirms the longstanding position of Al Mezan and other Palestinian and Israeli human rights organizations that the Israeli judicial system is complicit in crimes committed by Israeli authorities and lacks the essential guarantees of judicial independence, impartiality, integrity, and effectiveness. Such practices further expand the scope of violations, reinforce the culture of impunity, and intensify grave concerns for the lives and safety of Palestinian detainees held in Israeli prisons
Al Mezan Center for Human Rights urgently calls upon international bodies responsible for the enforcement of international law to take immediate action, including the establishment of independent and impartial investigations into the deaths of Palestinian detainees, the adoption of effective measures to halt the ongoing pattern of Israeli violations, and the guarantee of victims’ rights to justice, effective remedy, and full reparation, while ensuring that those responsible are held accountable and do not enjoy impunity
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