This article establishes a pattern of sexual torture and ill-treatment of Palestinian detainees by Israeli authorities well before the events of October 7, 2023. The systemic nature of these abuses - documented as early as 2005 - suggests a longstanding policy of using sexual violence as a tool of oppression.

The Commission has reviewed testimonies obtained by journalists and the Israeli police concerning rape but has not been able to independently verify such allegations, due to a lack of access to victims, witnesses and crime sites and the obstruction of its investigations by the Israeli authorities. The Commission was unable to review the unedited version of such testimonies. For the same reasons, the Commission was also unable to verify reports of sexualized torture and genital mutilation. Additionally, the Commission found some specific allegations to be false, inaccurate or contradictory with other evidence or statements and discounted these from its assessment.

The argument that Israel’s accusations of rape against Hamas are a form of projection is strongly supported by this evidence. The historical and ongoing sexual violence by Israeli forces against Palestinian detainees contrasts with the unverified allegations against Hamas, which the UN Commission could not substantiate due to Israeli obstruction and the finding that some claims were false. This pattern, combined with Israel’s documented history of misinformation, suggests that allegations of rape by Hamas serve to deflect attention from Israel’s own abuses, aligning with the concept of projection.