Using Police Dogs Against Civilians in Gaza
The Israeli army attacked Palestinian citizens during military operations in the Gaza Strip using police dogs, one of the many ways the Zionist occupation tortured and killed residents there. This practice of systematic and widespread use of these canines to frighten, maul, and assault prisoners and detainees was also observed in Israeli detention camps.
The attack of an elderly Palestinian woman dubbed "Dawlat al-Tanani" by a police dog has attracted a lot of attention recently. The dog is shown viciously mauling the woman in a terrifying video, and everyone who watches it can't help but hear her cries. Al-Tanani's situation is not unique; these assaults are increasingly common and primarily target women and the elderly. Her situation became well-known as a result of being extensively disseminated and documented on camera.
In the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, on May 14, Dawlat al-Tanani, 60, was attacked by a dog in her home. She described the incident to the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, saying, "I was sleeping in my house, which I refused to leave after the Israeli army infiltrated Jabalia camp. After blowing up the wall, I heard Israeli forces entering my house as I woke up. A dog with a camera on its back attacked me in a matter of seconds, tearing and biting at my shoulder till its fangs got to my bone and pulling me outside. I let out a loud cry, but the troops laughed and offered no assistance or care. One of my relatives who was in the home pushed the dog away with his cane after it kept mauling me and I screamed. My relative was able to shut the room door while I was bleeding profusely, but she was unable to get the soldiers to assist her. I was transferred to 'Al-Yemen' Hospital the following day, followed by 'Kamal Adwan' and 'Al-Awda' hospitals, as he worked to stop the bleeding with a heading scarf. But they only provided me with a splint and little medical care. I still get pain from this wound.
Reports of inmates being raped in front of other detainees, with the use of dogs in these assaults accentuating the severity and criminality of the occupation, are among the most gruesome and violent accounts from Gaza. This is a component of the institutionalized sexual assault against inmates that includes stripping, rape threats or acts of sexual harassment, and the use of sharp weapons as a form of intimidation.
The Israeli army clearly uses dogs to sexually abuse detainees and prisoners, according to disturbing accounts that the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor received from freed detainees. One witness was attorney "Fadi Saif Al-Din Bakr," who was freed on February 22 following a 45-day incarceration. "They held me in a building named 'Diapers,' and made me wear diapers for two days," he added. Then they dragged me into a doorless, stench-filled, dark room with a metal chair in the center. The soldiers chained my arms while I sat on it. I was conversing normally when I started to lose consciousness. I realized that my feet had exploded from the strong energy when I came to. I was given a 'Panadol' medication by the military doctor. The troops brought me back to the "barn container," unable to move or communicate. A few hours later, soldiers burst in and drove me and two other young men to another location in a military jeep. It was there when the troops first took off the blindfolds covering our eyes. The young man was hauled violently to my right by the troops, who then made him lie on the ground and bound his wrists and feet. The young man was brutally sexually assaulted by trained police dogs who were suddenly let loose by the Israeli military. Out of all the torment I went through, this was the worst thing I saw. It was torment on an entirely new level. Instead of going through such an ordeal, I wished for death. I was told to get ready by a soldier, but by the grace of God, there was a security breach near the jail. After they'd taken one of us through the torture session, they quickly brought us back to the barn.