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Al-Ahram Weekly 11 - 17 March 1999 Issue No. 420 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 11 - 17 March 1999 Issue No. 420
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Focus Special Features Travel Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Torture all the same
By Khaled AmayrehHuman rights activists in the Occupied Territories have criticised a recent UN report on human rights violations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip for "understating the severity of human rights violations by both Israel and the Palestinian Authority."
The report, prepared by UN investigator Hannu Halinen of Finland and published last week, claimed that Israel had discontinued the most flagrant torture methods, but did not specify which methods were discontinued and when.
The report argued that "while there is a positive development to be recognised on the Israeli side, such as the decrease in administrative detention and the discontinuation of the most flagrant torture methods, it appears that such violations are increasing on the Palestinian side."
The report did mention, though, that Israel was continuing to use physical and psychological torture against Palestinian detainees as well as depriving Palestinians as a whole of their economic and other basic human rights.
Halinen did not explain how he reached the conclusion that there had been a mitigation in the severity of torture methods used by Israeli interrogators. Neither did he mention the obvious reason for the reduction in administrative detentions, namely the fact that fewer Palestinians are now living under Israel's direct military rule.
However, it appears Halinen is basing some of his observations on minor "improvements" Israel has reportedly made. These include substituting a foul-smelling sack, which is placed on detainees' heads for prolonged periods of time, with one which smells less rancid, and using rubber handcuffs instead of those made of metal.
Basem Eid, director of the Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group, described Halinen's report as "understating the truth about human rights violations by Israel and the Palestinian Authority." Eid said that while the report contained useful information, it did not reflect the extent of the human rights' tragedy in the occupied territories.
"He [Halinen] didn't produce any evidence to support his claim that the brutality of torture by Israeli interrogators against Palestinian detainees had been reduced or mitigated in any significant manner," said Eid. He argued that Halinen failed to ascertain the accuracy of "vague Israeli claims" that internal security intelligence interrogators had ceased some of their most sinister and flagrant torture methods.
Furthermore, Eid questioned whether the present data concerning the use of torture by Israeli interrogators was enough to justify Halinen's conclusion that there has been an "improvement on the Israeli side."
"There is a blackout on what goes on inside the interrogation chambers, and no serious human rights investigator can or should take statements to that effect by torturers or their bosses at face value," said Eid. He pointed out that there was no evidence suggesting the Israelis had stopped using the notorious "shaking technique", which has killed at least one Palestinian detainee, Abdul-Samad Hureizat.
Eid's assertions are, in fact, corroborated, even vindicated, by the report itself. Indeed, far from presenting credible evidence supporting his conclusion, Halinen cites another little-known, but no less sinister torture method, used by the Israelis. This, he explains, involves cutting off a detainee's blood circulation by putting him in extremely tight handcuffs. The resulting pressure on the upper arms causes the detainee to lose consciousness in approximately three minutes.
This method, which is reportedly becoming more widespread, can hardly be considered an improvement, particularly when viewed in the context of other "traditional" forms of torture which are sanctioned by the Israeli High Court. These include: moderate beating (the definition of moderate is left to the interrogators' discretion), hooding, sleep deprivation, handcuffing, blindfolding, fettering, confining detainees to agonising positions for hours, placing opaque glasses on detainees' eyes (which could inflict irreparable damage on a detainee's eyesight) and the shaking technique. Added to that is psychological torture, including sexual humiliation, which is designed to demoralise detainees.
Israel considers the use of "moderate physical pressure" against Palestinian detainees an indispensable method in combating Palestinian, especially militant, violence. However, it is apparent Israeli interrogators use torture as the "norm" rather than an "exception" to punish Palestinians for adhering to particular ideologies and being members of or sympathising with certain organisations.
Last year, the Israeli lawyer Lea Tsemel, who has defended Palestinians in Israeli courts since 1967, testified that the Israeli interrogators routinely torture Palestinian detainees to punish them.
The Israeli government continually ignores local and international protests against the use and legalisation of torture against Palestinians. Last week, the Israeli High Court of Justice ruled in favour of allowing the internal security forces, Shin Beth, to maintain their torture methods.
David Bar Illan, head of the political planning department at the Israeli prime minister's office, has criticised the UN report for "failing to take Israeli security needs into account." He indicated that Israel was trying to minimise the use of torture. Likewise, the PA has not commented on what the report describes as "the increasing violation of human rights and civil liberties by PA security organisations." One official at the PA Ministry of Justice contacted by the Weekly, said, "We aren't allowed to comment on these matters."
