Torture

The Israeli General Security Services, known as the Shabak, routinely use torture when interrogating Palestinians in Israeli jails and detention facilities. In 1987, prior to the onset of the Intifada, former Israeli Supreme Court President Moshe Landau headed a commission which investigated allegations of torture and perjury by the Shabak. The Landau Commission found that the Shabak had indeed used torture against Palestinian detainees, and then routinely lied about such practices at hearings. After first declaring that the use of torture should cease, the Commission then created a loophole for the Shabak, permitting them to use “moderate physical pressure.” The Commission outlined the limits of such pressure for interrogators, thus effectively legalizing torture in Israel and making “moderate physical pressure” a mere euphemism for torture.. These guidelines remain secret and have evolved into a carte blanche for the interrogation practices of the Shabak.

Landau’s Impact on Justice:
In pursuit of information for “security purposes” and to quell Palestinian opposition, the Shabak has incorporated many forms of abuse and torture, consistently defining such methods as within the Landau “moderate physical pressure” guidelines. The Israeli High Court of Justice has also sanctioned the use of such torture. In a January 1997 ruling, the Court held that, when in pursuit of a “ticking bomb”, i.e. an individual who knows of an impending attack and can supposedly lead directly to a “terrorist cell,” the Shabak could employ moderate physical pressure. Further, when employing several of the methods listed below, the Shabak must--and does--receive special permission from a Knesset (the Israeli Parliament) Committee, comprised of members from many parties and political perspectives. The sanctioning of torture by both the highest judicial and legislative bodies in a supposed democracy is unconscionable and in violation of all applicable international legal standards and human rights conventions. Israel is a signatory to the U.N. Convention Against Torture and Cruel, Inhuman, or Humiliating Treatment.

Methods of Torture:
  • Prolonged sleep deprivation (administrative detainee Ahmad Qattamesh was deprived of sleep for the first 25 days of his interrogation)
  • Position abuse (e.g., hanging victims upside-down from pipes or trying them in pretzel-like” configurations for lengthy periods causing sever internal damage)
  • The kindergarten chair(tying victims to small chairs with smaller front legs, creating tremendous pressure on the back, and leaving them thus restrained for hours)
  • Soiled sacks (tying soiled and putrid sacks on the victim’s head)
  • Temperature variations (repeatedly subjecting the victim to intense cold from air conditioning or water, then quickly placing him in front of a heater, causing illness and severe disorientation)
  • Violent shaking (shaking the victim violently and vigorously for 7-12 minute intervals, then repeating, causing severe internal damage and in some cases, death)
  • Threats (one torture victim was consistently referred to by his interrogators as Akawi, the name of a Palestinian who had died during interrogation. The Shabak also threaten the victim’s family members and neighbors)
  • Deafening Music (Victims may have music blared either into their cells or directly into their ears during an interrogation session)
  • Beating
  • Humiliation

For more information on torture and detention of Palestinians, visit the LAW Prisoner Site


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