7.5 Conclusion

7.5 Conclusion

In conclusion, the slow erasure of Palestinian identity, agency, and episteme through the mechanisms of torture, imprisonment, and systemic violence during incarceration reflects a broader strategy rooted in settler-colonialism. This process aims not only to physically and psychologically break individuals but also to undermine and dismantle the collective identity and resistance of the Palestinian people. By attacking identity and agency, torture seeks to dismantle the very essence of what makes someone an autonomous individual. This process of deconstruction is not just about inflicting pain but about reshaping or destroying the victim’s inner self, leaving them disoriented, dependent, and stripped of their previous sense of self and capability. The dehumanisation serves the purpose not only for the interrogators to be able to torture a fellow human being but also to erase the identity of the tortured body. It is, after all, the identity that is seen as a reason to torture Palestinians.

The practices examined in this chapter demonstrate how the Palestinian body is transformed into a contested site of power under Israeli settler-colonial rule. Torture, as explored here, extends far beyond the extraction of information; it functions as a mechanism of slow erasure, targeting identity, agency, and resistance. Through both physical and psychological subjugation, the Palestinian body is rendered a space of pain, humiliation, and control, subjected to tactics that degrade and dismantle its autonomy.

The tactics used, ranging from physical abuse and psychological trauma to the denial of care, serve to dehumanise and degrade, stripping individuals of their dignity and sense of self. The use of torture, as detailed in various accounts, is not merely for interrogation purposes but is a deliberate act to inflict pain and assert control, reinforcing the power dynamics inherent in the settler-colonial framework.

The weaponisation of care, as outlined, illustrates how the very denial of basic bodily needs is deployed as a method of torture, ensuring that suffering is both prolonged and compounded by the body’s natural vulnerabilities. The refusal of medical attention, the calculated deprivation of menstrual products, the strategic manipulation of bodily functions, and the targeted abuse of pregnant and birthing women all serve to reinforce power hierarchies. These methods are not incidental but are fundamental to the carceral logic of settler-colonialism, where the body itself becomes a battleground for dominance and subjugation.

While I have explored the ways in which torture is wielded as a tool of erasure, it is crucial to acknowledge that the Palestinian body, even under immense duress, remains a site of resistance. As will be examined in the following chapter, resistance does not cease under conditions of incarceration and torture; rather, it adapts, manifests in new forms, and challenges the very structures that seek to dismantle it. The ability of Palestinian prisoners to endure, to testify, and to assert their humanity in the face of systematic brutality underscores the limits of the colonial project. Even in the most constrained conditions, Palestinians refuse complete subjugation, continuing to bear witness to both their suffering and their resilience.