The violence was brutal, Kuperstein recounts in an interview with the Israeli public service. With his eyes bound, he was taken to a room where he was hit in the face and dragged along the floor.
They pulled me by the legs, trampled on me and humiliated me as much as they could. (...) One of them said in Hebrew: ”Until now, we have not done anything to you. Now you will feel in your own body what our prisoners go through”.
According to Kuperstein, his guards explained the abuse with the far-right Israeli security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir's statements about Palestinians in Israeli captivity, writes Haaretz.
They said they did it because of Ben-Gvir. ”What he does to our prisoners, you will also get – an eye for an eye”.
Then he was hit with a stick on his feet and legs, resulting in several broken toes.
I could not stand on my foot for a month, says Kuperstein.
The ultranationalist Itamar Ben-Gvir was a strong opponent of the ceasefire in Gaza and has instead advocated for tougher measures against Hamas, as well as against Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Among other things, he has repeatedly demanded that the Israeli parliament give the green light for the execution of Palestinian prisoners.
