ISRAELI HIGH COURT PUTS 'STAMP OF APPROVAL' ON TORTURE OF PALESTINIANS

(Ben Heine © Cartoons)
“Today in Israel, there is no effective barrier – not legal and certainly not ethical – that stands in the way of using torture." Those are the words of Hannah Friedman, director of the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel.

Speaking of barriers, I was under the impression that Israel's wall of apartheid was supposed to keep terrorists out.... is this an admission that perhaps it was built for other purposes? But that's a topic for another post....

Friedman also stated that “Torture victims, in their painful testimonies, serve to warn us that this ethical boundary is blurred in our society. A state that views itself as a democracy committed to the protection of human rights cannot allow torture that is derived from the darkness of the Middle Ages.”

Shin Bet's response to Friedman's allegations was that its interrogations were "conducted according to the law. All detainees have the right to file a complaint with the courts or the Red Cross and these will be examined by the Ombudsman of Interogees' Complaints.”

“It must be stressed that the information derived from these interrogations helped prevent and thwart acts of terror against Israeli citizens.”

It would be interesting to know just what law the Shin Bet is referring to, it certainly isn't any International Law that forbids the use of torture.

Just as Palestine stands alone as far as bearing the brunt of the occupation, so does Israel when it comes to 'legalising it. Israel has a unique legal system that allows just about anything, including torture and assasination... all 'within the law'.

Following is a report from Ynet which deals with the question of torture...

Report: High Court permits torture of Palestinians


Public Committee Against Torture in Israel says there is ‘no effective barrier – not legal and certainly not ethical – that stands in the way of using torture’; Shin Bet in response: Interrogations help prevent thwart terror attacks
By Aviram Zino

Image by Carlos Latuff


The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI) on Wednesday slammed thee High Court's approval of the use of controversial methods to interrogate Palestinians deemed as “ticking bombs,” saying the ruling was interpreted by the Shin Bet as a green light to torture almost every Palestinian detainee.

For full report click here

A report released by the PCATI showcases detailed accounts of nine Palestinian detainees it claims were tortured by physicians and medical staff members in hospitals, Shin Bet interrogators, military judges and advocates, prison wardens, police officers and even senior Justice Ministry officials.

According to the report, the idea of a "ticking bomb" was first coined as a literary concept by French author and journalist Jean Lartéguy in his book "Les Centurions," 1961, which relates to the French occupation of Algeria, “which was no less brutal than the Israeli occupation of Palestinian Territories.”

“It is entirely possible that the practice of torture is an effective measure for obtaining information that may save human life (the Public Committee Against Torture opposes torture absolutely, regardless of such claims), but the testimonies of the nine terror victims exemplify the extent to which the torture mechanism is rooted in the treatment of Palestinian detainees, and the exceedingly bureaucratic way in which torture is carried out, in an organized, almost blasé manner,” the report said.

“We have no way of knowing what information was in the possession of the Israeli security apparatuses that led to the use of such sadistic torture, but it is doubtful that any of the victims fits the very terrible scenario of a ‘ticking bomb’.”

'Ethical boundary is blurred'

PCATI said in the report that it is no longer possible to limit the practice of torture to exceptional cases.

“Today in Israel, there is no effective barrier – not legal and certainly not ethical – that stands in the way of using torture. A secret service organization such as the GSS (Shin Bet) decides independently to use torture and, afterwards, investigates itself as to whether the use of interrogation was justified.

“The Justice Ministry – from the Attorney General through the State Attorney's Office and the nameless GSS Ombudsman of Interogees' Complaints – gives systematic and blind backing to the interrogation methods of the GSS. The legal system tends to avoid torture victims' complaints,” the report said.

PCATI director Hannah Friedman said in the report’s closing paragraph that “when the nations of the world decided in the wake of the world wars of the last century to prohibit the use of torture absolutely and with no reservations, this was an attempt to denote an ethical boundary between the nations of the world and the old, cruel, racist, un-discriminatingly murderous world – to declare that there are deeds that democracies and decent people do not commit.

“Torture victims, in their painful testimonies, serve to warn us that this ethical boundary is blurred in our society. A state that views itself as a democracy committed to the protection of human rights cannot allow torture that is derived from the darkness of the Middle Ages,” she said.

The Shin Bet security agency said in response that its interrogations were "conducted according to the law. All detainees have the right to file a complaint with the courts or the Red Cross and these will be examined by the Ombudsman of Interogees' Complaints.”

“It must be stressed that the information derived from these interrogations helped prevent and thwart acts of terror against Israeli citizens.”