Israeli security agency, Shin Bet, abuses Palestinians under interrogation in a manner so systematic it points to official endorsement, two Israeli NGOs said in a report published Wednesday.

Israeli security agency, Shin Bet, abuses Palestinians under interrogation in a manner so systematic it points to official endorsement, two Israeli NGOs said in a report published Wednesday.

The 70-page joint study by rights groups B'Tselem and Hamoked is based on accounts by 116 suspects interrogated at Shikma prison in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon between August 2013 and March 2014.

The report, a third in a series on interrogations of Palestinians, said there are marked similarities with other facilities.

"Time and again, the detainees interviewed described unlawful conduct by the authorities," said the report, entitled "Backed by the System".

"The descriptions bear a striking resemblance to accounts previously provided by detainees held at other interrogation facilities. Taken together, it would seem that this conduct constitutes official interrogation policy."

The report said that practices in the Shin Bet detention block at Shikma included sleep deprivation for long periods, being bound hand and foot to a chair for hours on end and exposure to extreme cold and heat.

"Being denied the possibility to shower or change clothes for days and even weeks; incarceration in a small, foul-smelling cell, usually in solitary confinement, for many days...are some of the standard features," it added.

The report also noted that 39 of the Palestinians interrogated by thje Zionist entity had been arrested and tortured by the Palestinian Authority prior to their interrogation at Shikma.
Some of them said that the questioning by Israeli agents implied that the PA had shared its information with the Shin Bet.