It’s all by the book
January 3, 2016
Op-ed: The fact that something is legal doesn’t make it justified; sometimes, the fact that something is legal serves only to illustrate the bankruptcy of the legislative mechanisms in a place where criminal acts have become lawful.
Yael Stein
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reassured the members of his faction in response to allegations that torture had been used against the individuals suspected of murdering three members of the Dawabsheh family in the village of Duma, including an 18-month old baby boy, saying that "all the investigations are being conducted in accordance with the law, under the supervision of the attorney general and the court."
The prime minister is right. The prevention of meetings with an attorney and the use of "special interrogation measures" - which reportedly included sleep deprivation, painful binding or restraints, and protracted interrogation sessions, particularly of minors - were indeed undertaken in accordance with the law. And with the approval of the attorney general. And that of the Supreme Court justices.
Here is a partial list of some other actions that have been done by the book. And with the approval of the attorney general. And that of the Supreme Court:
in full: http://www.ynetnews.com/Ext/Comp/ArticleLayout/CdaArticlePrintPreview/0,2506,L-4746791,00.html
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Attitudes toward torture in Israel differ significantly among Jews and Arabs. Poll also finds conciliatory views about the legitimacy of the ‘other’ and their claims to the land.
Illustrative photo of Palestinian prisoners in an Israeli military prison (By ChameleonsEye / Shutterstock.com)
More than 55 percent of Jewish Israelis think it is permissible to use “physical methods” of interrogation, i.e. torture, against terrorism suspects even if there is no “ticking bomb” scenario to stop, according to a public opinion poll published Monday.
The issue of torture has been in the news in recent weeks because attorneys for a handful of Jewish extremists accused of committed acts of terrorism against Palestinians say the Shin Bet, Israel’s internal secret police, used methods amounting to torture in order to extract confessions from them.
There has been much public discussion in Israel about whether authorities use the same methods and dedication in thwarting and solving Jewish terrorism against Palestinians as they do with Palestinian terrorism against Jews.
The poll, published by the Israel Democracy Institute on Monday, found significant ethno-religious divides on the question of against whom torture is permissible.
Over 30 percent of Jewish respondents in the monthly Peace Index said interrogation methods and punishments for Jews suspected of committing acts of terrorism against Palestinians should be less harsh than for Palestinians suspected of terrorism against Jews.
Likewise, only 7 percent of Jews polled thought that the Shin Bet’s interrogation methods for Palestinian terrorism suspects are too harsh. On the other hand, nearly a quarter (23 percent) of Jewish respondents said the security agency’s interrogation methods against Jews are too harsh; 21 percent of Arab respondents agreed.
The biggest cleavage, however, was on the question of whether “physical methods” of interrogation are ever permissible. Six percent of Jewish respondents and 83 percent of Arabs said it is never permissible, ticking bomb or not.
http://972mag.com/views-on-torture-split-along-ethnic-lines-israeli-poll-finds/115585/
