Israel rejects UN panel's concerns of prisoner abuse

Israel yesterday rejected the concerns of a UN panel over alleged violations in its prisons, including a purported surge in solitary confinements, insisting such tactics were used only in "extremely restricted" cases.

The United Nations Committee against Torture, reviewing Israel for the first time since 2009, on Tuesday asked a government delegation about reports of multiple serious abuses in prisons, particularly against detained Palestinians.

Committee chair Jens Modvig cited figures indicating that solitary confinements in Israel had nearly doubled from 2012 to 2014, jumping from 390 to 755 over the period.

The deputy director of the human rights department at Israel's foreign ministry, Michal Sarig-Kaduri, told the UN panel that solitary confinements were "extremely restricted and used for short and limited periods of time, for a maximum of 14 days only."

She explained that while some detainees were placed in solitary confinement as a punitive measure, others were held in "separation" when they posed a threat to themselves or other inmates.