Torturing Palestinian Detainees

B’Tselem is the conservative Israeli Information

Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories

with a well-deserved reputation for accuracy. A group

of prominent academics, attorneys, journalists and

Knesset members founded the organization in 1989 to

"document and educate the Israeli public and

policymakers about human rights violations in the

Occupied Territories, combat the phenomenon of denial

prevalent among the Israeli public, and help create a

human rights culture in Israel" to convince government

officials to respect human rights and comply with

international law.

Its work covers a wide range of human rights issues

that include detentions and torture. In May, 2007, it

prepared a detailed 100 page report titled "Absolute

Prohibition: The Torture and Ill-treatment of

Palestinian Detainees" that’s now available in print

for those who request it. This article summarizes its

findings that represent a joint effort by B’Tselem and

HaMoked: Center for the Defense of the Individual that

was founded in 1988 to support Palestinian rights

during the first intifada in the late 1980s.

Since the early 1990s, B’Tselem published more than

ten reports on Israelis’ use of torture and

mistreatment of Palestinian detainees. This is the

latest one in an effort to raise public awareness and

help abolish these abhorrent practices. The findings

are based on testimonies solicited from a small

"unrepresentative" sample of 73 Palestinian West Bank

residents who were arrested between July, 2005 and

January, 2006, agreed to tell their stories, and who

met predetermined criteria for the study.

They were chosen from the names of 4460 Palestinian

detainees whose relatives contacted HaMoked for help

to locate their whereabouts. HaMoked provides this

service because Israel violates international law and

its own military regulations by denying family members

any information about who was detained or where

they’re being held. From its many years investigating

Israeli torture, B’Tselem believes the information in

this report accurately reflects the types and extent

of Israeli abusive practices.

Torture, abuse or degrading treatment are abhorrent in

any form for any reason, and long-standing

international law forbids these practices under all

circumstances. The four 1949 Geneva Conventions banned

any form of "physical or mental coercion" and affirmed

sick, wounded, war prisoners and civilians must be

treated humanely. All four conventions have a common

thread called Common Article Three that requires all

non-combatants to be treated humanely at all times.

There are no exceptions for any reasons, and

violations are grave breaches of Geneva and other

international law that constitute crimes of war and

against humanity.

Nonetheless, the 1987 Landau Commission (headed by

retired Israeli Supreme Court Chief Justice Moshe

Landau) cited the "necessary defense" provision in the

Penal Law to recommend using "psychological and

moderate physical pressure," to obtain evidence for

convictions in criminal proceedings. Its justification

was that coercive interrogation tactics were necessary

against "hostile terrorist activity" it defined to

include not just threats or acts of violence but all

activities related to Palestinian nationalism.

Later in September, 1999, Israel’s High Court of

Justice (HCJ) responded to the Public Committee

Against Torture in Israel’s petition (PCATI) and

issued a landmark decision (reversing Landau

recommendations) and barred the use of torture

against detainees. It was, however, a hollow gesture

as at the same time it ruled pressure and a measure of

discomfort were legitimate interrogation side-effects

but should not be used to break a detainee’s spirit.

It then added a giant loophole allowing interrogators

to use physical force and avoid prosecutions in

"ticking time bomb" cases even though international

law allows no exceptions, and Israeli authorities

could claim that excuse for anyone in custody.

Since its occupation of Gaza and the West Bank (the

OPT) in 1967, Israel imprisoned over 650,000

Palestinians according to the Palestinian peace and

justice group MIFTA. That’s equivalent to about

one-sixth of the OPT’s population today. The security

services currently hold around ten to twelve thousand

Palestinian men, women and children in its prisons

under deplorable conditions with many under

administrative detention without charge. Based on

earlier assessments by Hamoked, B’Tselem estimates as

many as 85% of them are subjected to torture and

mistreatment in custody even though most of them

aren’t accused of terrorism. These practices are

routinely and systematically used against political

activists, students accused of being pro-Islam,

sheikhs and religious leaders, people in Islamic

charitable organizations, relatives of wanted

individuals or any man, woman or child Israel targets

for any reason.

B’Tselem’s May, 2007 report states that the Israeli

Security Agency (ISA - formerly called the General

Security Service or GSS) admits to using "exceptional"

methods that include "physical pressure" of

interrogation in "ticking bomb" cases that can be used

as an excuse to abuse anyone. In addition, law

enforcement officials openly admit harsh measures are

approved retroactively so that Palestinian detainee

rights can be freely violated without fear of

recrimination. In other words, ISA interrogators know

the rules - don’t ask permission, use any methods you

wish, and don’t worry about the consequences after the

fact. There won’t be any, and it shows in what

detainees told B’Tselem.

They reported being "softened up" for interrogation

from the moment of their arrest to when ISA agents

took over. Abuses at the outset included beatings,

painful binding, swearing, humiliation and denial of

basic needs. The ISA procedure then included seven key

forms of abuse that violated the detainees’ dignity

and bodily integrity. They were inflicted to break

their spirit, but international law calls it torture

when it includes verified intent, severe pain or

suffering, improper motive, and involvement of the

state. All those conditions apply to Israeli abusive

practices that included:

— isolation that prohibited detainees from contact

with family, an attorney or ICRC representatives; this

exacerbated detainees’ sense of powerlessness by

creating a situation in which they’re completely at

the mercy of interrogators; it’s also known to cause

them serious psychological harm when continued for

extended periods;

— psychological pressure from solitary confinement in

"putrid, stifling cells three to six square meters in

size" with no windows or access to daylight and fresh

air; a fixed overhead light on 24 hours a day; walls

made of rough plaster making them uncomfortable or

impossible to lean against; a water faucet on one wall

and some cells with sinks; a usually dirty and damp

mattress and "filthy putrid" blankets on the floor;

nothing else in cells; reading and writing materials

not allowed; in many cells, toilets were holes in the

floor; detainees denied all human contact except for

guards and interrogators.

— physical conditions in solitary confinement cells

are regulated in Criminal Procedure Regulations issued

by Israel’s Minister of Internal Security with the

approval of the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice

Committee; they don’t apply to "security detainees,"

however, so cells have no bed, chairs and most often

no sink; nothing else provided including use of a

telephone and right to have visitors provide items;

cells were too small to walk around in, and no daily

outside exercise was allowed;

— detainees weakened from lack of physical activity,

sleep deprivation and inadequate food; they’re denied

basic needs like food and liquids, medicines or the

right to relieve themselves; throughout long hours of

interrogation, they’re shackled to a chair unable to

move hands or legs even minimally; they had

nutritional deficiencies and food received was

inadequate, cold, improperly cooked, flavorless and

often repulsive in appearance; many detainees resisted

eating as long as possible;

— shackling in the "shabah" position that’s the

prolonged and painful binding of detainees’ hands and

feet to a standard-sized unupholstered, metal frame,

rigid plastic chair fixed to the floor with no

armrests; hands tightly bound behind the back in

adjustable plastic handcuffs and connected to a ring

at the back of the seat to stretch them uncomfortably

below the backrest; legs bound to the chair’s front

legs; detainees were unable to get up throughout

interrogation that on average lasted eight consecutive

hours without a break and on the first day ran 12

hours; later in the interrogation period, sessions

shortened to four or five hours;

— interrogations only for a small portion of this

time; for most if it, interrogators were out of the

room; at those times air conditioning turned up to

uncomfortably cold levels; most often only one meal

served during a day’s interrogation; very sparing

toilet privileges allowed; nearly all detainees

complained of severe back, neck, shoulder, arms and

wrist pain during interrogation; numbness or loss of

sensation in limbs also reported; the Israeli High

Court of Justice (HCJ) ruled in 1999 that all "shabah"

shackling procedures are unlawful since they violate

rules for "reasonable and fair interrogation" and

injure detainees’ dignity and well-being; ISA

interrogators ignore the ruling with impunity;

— cursing and humiliating strip searches of detainees

as well as shouting, spitting in the face and other

related abusive practices; detainees forced to strip

naked and submit to body searches while being yelled

at and mocked;

— intimidations made to include threats of physical

torture (called "military interrogation"), arrest of

family members and destruction of homes;

— using informants ("asafirs") to get information

that’s not abusive as such but is a very questionable

method following preparatory "softening up."

B’Tselem then discussed "special" interrogation

methods that mostly involve physical violence:

— sleep deprivation for 30 to 40 hours during which

detainees left painfully shackled in interrogation

rooms; guards frequently awakened detainees between

midnight and 5AM; various type oppressive noises used

at night to interfere with sleep;

— use of "dry" beatings that included punching,

kicking all parts of the body, striking with rifle

butts and face slapping; detainees hit with clubs,

helmets and other objects; heads slammed against a

wall, floor or hard surface; beatings inflicted when

detainees’ hands were bound behind their back, and

they were blindfolded; additional beatings during

physical inspections with their hands cuffed;

— painful binding with handcuffs or other devices

tight enough to cut off blood flow circulation and

cause swelling;

— sharp twisting of the head forcefully and suddenly

sideways or backwards;

— forced "frog" crouching on tiptoes with cuffed

hands behind the back accompanied by shoving or

beating until detainees lost their balance and fell

forward or backward; this method inflicts pain by

increasing pressure on leg muscles and also hurts

wrists after falling;

— use of forced "banana" position that involves

bending the back in a painful arch while the body is

extended horizontally to the floor on a backless chair

with arms and feet bound beneath it.

Prison killings also occur like the October 22 one at

the notorious Ketziot Detention Center in the Negev

desert where 2300 Palestinians are held under very

harsh conditions. It happened at 2AM when prison

guards began searching tents and strip-searching

inmates in a deliberate middle of the night

provocation. Prisoners resisted and about 550 members

of the Israeli Prison Service (IPS) Metsada riot

dispersal unit responded with excessive force by

beating them with plastic clubs and rifle butts as

well as firing rubber-coated bullets, live ammunition,

tear gas and stun grenades that set tents ablaze and

caused as many as 250 inmate injuries and at least

nine serious ones. During the assault, Mohammed Al

Ashqar was killed after being shot in the head.

The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR)

maintains that prisoner abuse, repressive tactics and

killing Palestinians is official Israeli policy that’s

become even worse under current IPS director, Beni

Kaniak. PCHR reports he instituted these punitive

measures:

— reductions in food and cleaning materials rations;

— additional items prisoners forbidden to have;

— confiscated prisoners’ money and prevented none

sent from families to reach them;

— widespread use of solitary confinement;

— periodic movement of prisoners to new facilities to

prevent any sense of stability;

— repeated unannounced harsh late night raids like

the October 22 one at Ketziot.

These tactics and Palestinian detainee torture and

abuse are condoned "under the auspices of the Israeli

law enforcement system." B’Tselem reported since 2001,

Israel’s State Attorney’s Office got over 500

complaints of these practices but investigated none of

them. Overall, instances of detainee mistreatment are

rarely looked into and even fewer ever result in

indictments. Further, despite its 1999 ruling,

Israel’s High Court of Justice (HCJ) aids ISA

interrogations by refusing to accept even one of

hundreds of petitions brought before it for redress.

HCJ also lets ISA conceal information from detainees

that abusive orders were issued against them or that

legal petitions were filed on their behalf. It further

allows evidence obtained under torture to be used in

criminal proceedings.

B’Tselem and HaMoked are committed to ending Israel’s

use of torture against Palestinian detainees. They

cite the example of the US Army’s September, 2006

Field Manual for Human Intelligence Collector

Operations as a proper guide to conducting

interrogations even though authorized physical and

psychological brutality became official administration

policy under George Bush post-9/11. Nonetheless, this

manual covers 18 interrogation methods experience

showed work under varying situations and conditions.

They range from establishing trust between

interrogator and detainee to the use of ruses and

psychological manipulation. In all cases, they don’t

involve torture or other unlawful practices.

It’s one thing to have rules and laws and another to

abide by them. The US under George Bush condones and

practices "the harshest interrogation techniques ever

used by the Central Intelligence Agency" according to

once secret Department of Justice (DOJ) legal

opinions. It’s no different in Israel where the ISA

systematically and routinely uses banned interrogation

measures with impunity. B’Tselem and HaMoked want

these practices ended and urge the Israeli government

to halt them by enacting enforceable laws "strictly

prohibiting torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading

treatment" in accordance with international law.

They further recommend every complaint of abuse and

torture be investigated by an independent body,

persons found to have broken the law to be prosecuted,

and that "every detainee receives minimum humane

conditions." Israel claims to be a civilized state.

It’s about time it acted like one.

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Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at

lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

Also visit his blog site at http://sjlendman.blogspot.com and

listen to The Steve Lendman News and Information Hour

on TheMIcroEffect.com Mondays at noon US central time.