Wednesday, May 7, 2025, 9:52 Recordings were recently broadcast in the public media in which the head of the Jewish Department of the GSS described Jewish Yehuda and Shomron residents in derogatory and defamatory terms. In light of the revelation, Honenu is publicizing testimonies of Jewish Yehuda and Shomron residents who were abused during GSS interrogations.
The following testimony is from a Yehuda and Shomron resident who was detained ten years ago on suspicion of damaging Arab property. He was held under harsh conditions for two weeks, during which time he was not permitted to meet with an attorney, and eventually released without charge.
He describes how “police officers entered the beit midrash [study hall] and detained me. As they loaded me onto a Jeep, I realized that they weren’t regular police officers, but GSS agents. From the moment that I arrived at the GSS facility, I was told that I was not allowed to see an attorney. They hand- and leg-cuffed me, and covered my eyes. For four days they did not tell me what I was suspected of. Later, an interrogator read a list of Arab villages to me and said, ‘You are suspected of a “price tag” crime.’
“During one of the interrogations, the interrogator flew into a rage. He kneed my chest, pressed me against a chair, and choked me. I was shocked. Then, he let go of me and left the room. The entire time interrogators played ‘good cop, bad cop’ with the goal of getting me to talk. They deprived me of sleep for several days until I fainted, then took me for a short medical examination before continuing with the interrogation.”
He was eventually released from detention with a restraining order banning him from entering Yehuda and Shomron for a year: “After being detained for two weeks, I was released with no indictment. When the interrogations were over, they brought me a printed administrative restraining order and told me, ‘This is a gift for your release.’”
Yehuda and Shomron resident giving testimony of abuse during GSS detention (Hebrew with Hebrew subtitles); Video credit: Honenu
In the coming days, Honenu will reveal more testimonies demonstrating the persecution of Yehuda and Shomron residents by the Jewish Department of the GSS. Honenu issued a statement: “The Jewish Department of the GSS detains Jews without evidence. Their criminal conduct is unrestrained. We call for the reopening of all the cases in which the Jewish Department of the GSS carried out criminal actions, including cases such as that of Amiram Ben Uliel.”
For the testimony of a Shomron resident who was detained by the GSS three years ago after defending a group of boys from a mob of rioting Arabs, please click here. The resident was held under harsh conditions for two weeks, while banned from meeting with an attorney. After undergoing interrogations for 24 hours without a break at a GSS facility, he physically collapsed. The investigative case against the resident was closed after several months due to lack of guilt.