Israel claims it no longer uses torture, but that’s about as convincing as former CIA director George Tenet’s claims about the Bush administration post 9/11. A new report by leading Israeli human rights group B’Tselem proves the reality:
In recent years, Israel has openly admitted that ISA (formerly the General Security Service) interrogators employ “exceptional” interrogation methods and “physical pressure” against Palestinian detainees in situations labeled “ticking bombs”. B’Tselem and HaMoked – Center for the Defence of the Individual have examined these interrogation methods and the frequency with which they are used, as well as other harmful practices. The report’s findings are based on the testimonies of 73 Palestinian residents of the West Bank who were arrested between July 2005 and January 2006 and interrogated by the ISA. Although it is not a representative sample, it does provide a valid indication of the frequency of the reported phenomena…
The ill-treatment and torture of Palestinian detainees by soldiers and ISA interrogators do not take place in a void, but rather under the auspices of the Israeli law enforcement system.
What kind of “democracy” engages in torture? Of course, the world’s only superpower, its favourite Middle East client state, most of the Arab world and much of Europe and Asia.
Antony I reckon detention without charge for 7 years in outback desert camps being locked in isolation, teargassed, beated with batons and water cannoned would qualify as torture.
Marilyn
Unless it was you in the camps. That would count as a ‘gift to the nation.’
Antony. You didn’t mean to say that ‘most of the Arab world’ is a democracy did you? Many Arab countries engage in torture, stonings and hangings without trial. But, I’ve never seen it claimed that they are democracies.
Did you mean to say “Zionists who like to torture Arabs” or was it “Arabs who like to complain about being tortured by Jews”?
I take it you mean that the Arabs being tortured have no right to do so and that you approve of torture?
Is that what you learned while on the Kabbutz?
Not really. What I learned on Kibbutz was to love and respect my neighbours and treat everyone as an equal – including Jew, Arab or whatever.
That’s very encouraging, though with all due respects, you have a strange way of showing it – unless what you came back with was a particularly unique brand of tough love?
Andre,
Tough neighbourhood, tough love.
Thanks for the encouragement anyway.
Incidentally, as you seem to read all these reports could you tell me why none of the alleged victims or perpetrators was identified?
Surely that would make it difficult for the complaints to be investigated or to even discern whether the alleged toturers were Jewish, Arab, Druze or other.
So in the absence of any proof whatsoever, the Jews (not zionists) get the blame.