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At Ketziot Prison, they've been harshly treated in small windowless cells with no toilet or electricity, spending most of the day and night in total darkness.
According to the UN Committee Against Torture:
"All of the persons held were civilians and protected under (Fourth Geneva's) Article 4....The Mission does not accept the proposition that the (detained) men (are) unlawful combatants" to be denied international law protections. Doing so constitutes a crime of war and against humanity, Israeli specialties.
The Duty to Investigate Complaints
Under international humanitarian and human rights laws, Israel is required to conduct comprehensive, thorough, independent investigations, and prosecute persons guilty of detainee mistreatment and other types of abuse, including torture.
This obligation is anchored in Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions. Under Fourth Geneva's Article 46:
"The High Contracting Parties undertake to enact any legislation necessary to provide effective penal sanctions for persons committing, or ordering to be committed, any of the grave breaches of the present Convention," including willful killing, torture or inhuman treatment, inflicting suffering or injuries, denying the right to a fair trial, unlawfully transferring a protected person to the occupier's territory, or committing any act not justified by military necessity.
The scale and severity of Cast Lead violations demand a full investigation, including "a re-evaluation of the laws and rulings which allow for and authorize (such extreme) violation(s) of human rights and international humanitarian law." Yet Israel willfully and egregiously "violated its duty," defying its sworn obligation, another Israeli specialty along with obstruction, cover-up, and denial.
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