[JURIST] Israeli human rights group B'Tselem [advocacy website] and the Israel chapter of Physicians for Human Rights [advocacy website] Thursday accused the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) [official website] of violating international law by allowing the press to photograph Palestinian detainees seized in Tuesday's Jericho prison raid [JURIST report] virtually naked, clad only in their underwear. They made the allegation in a letter [press release] to Military Advocate General Brigadier General Avi Mandelblit. Images of the naked detainees were broadcast over local and state television, and published in newspapers in Israel and elsewhere.

B'Tselem and PHR claim that by parading the naked detainees in front of cameras, the IDF violated Article 27 of the 1949 Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War [text], which requires militaries to provide clothing to prisoners. Israeli forces may also have breached Article 14, which says that "Prisoners of war are entitled in all circumstances to respect for their persons and their honour." The human rights groups argued that if the detainees were required to be strip-searched for security reasons, the IDF should have prohibited the media from publicizing the event. Haaretz has local coverage.