August 28, 2008 at 05:16:15

Torture As Official Israeli Policy

SAVE AS FAVORITE

VIEW FAVORITES

By Stephen Lendman (about the author) Page 7 of 14 page(s)

opednews.com Permalink

-- manage their few investigations unprofessionally with no regard for justice; so

-- allow criminal abuse to go unpunished or barely so while absolving perpetrators of their responsibility; even rare convictions show leniency and send a powerful message: Palestinian rights don't matter so act with impunity; an obvious concern is raised; Palestinians face enormous obstacles getting justice in all Israeli courts; in military ones (against their own soldiers) it's near impossible; solution: an international law requiring:

-- civilians to be tried in civil courts;

-- soldiers as well when their victims are civilians; and

-- military courts for their own personnel solely in cases of military offenses.

Further, binding rules, procedures and guidelines must be in place as well as proper training, supervision and monitoring to insure that arrests, detentions and prosecutions are justly handled. Israel's military relies solely on the "values (spirit and norms) of the IDF." They're woefully inadequate, unresponsive to Arab rights, and always produce injustice. PCATI puts it this way: "Given this reality, it is hardly surprising that an examination of the actual behavior of the military, as distinct from its declarations, also reveals denial, evasion, and obfuscation."

Thousands of Palestinians are arrested, detained and abused. With little or no accountability, here's how one Israeli soldier put it: "When you deny thousands of people a day (free) movement, it is impossible to do it in a nice way." Nonetheless, government and military officials deny there's a problem. Examples of publicly exposed abuse are called exceptions or errors in judgment that are "dealt with exhaustively," according to the IDF Spokesperson. In fact, testimonies and reports reveal a widespread phenomenon.

Denial and cover-up assure its continuance, legitimization, and destructive consequences. And guilt goes right to the top - to senior Defense Ministry generals and Ministers of Defense. To Knesset members as well and ruling party officials. A review of unclassified Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee materials from 2003 - 2008 reveals no discussion of Palestinian detainees ill treatment - in spite of "countless reports in the media....by soldiers," and by human rights organizations like PCATI, B'Tselem and others. The Committee "failed to fulfill its function and obligation" to supervise the security establishment, identify problems and propose solutions. As a consequence, human rights abuses continue unabated.

PCATI Recommendations for Change

International law is clear. As an occupying power, Israel is obligated to assure Palestinians' welfare, safety and rights:

-- recognizing the existence of the problem comes first; widespread ill treatment exists and must be addressed equitably;

-- reporting, inspection and enforcement mechanisms must be established to do it;

-- military and security forces must take the lead - through "tangible objectives for securing a drastic reduction in as short a period of time as possible (toward) the ultimate goal of completely eradicating this phenomenon;

-- high level examination of the problem should be made public, shared with commanders and soldiers, the media, and members of the Knesset - to send a clear message that this behavior won't be tolerated;

-- Defense Ministry orders, directives, procedures and guidelines should be established:

(1) to assign responsibility;

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14

I am a 72 year old, retired, progressive small businessman concerned about all the major national and world issues, committed to speak out and write about them.

The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author
and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.