[1829] in peace2
Fwd: [NEWS] Israel's 'arbitrary' detention of Palestinians
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Amro M. Farid)
Sat Jul 27 15:46:26 2002
Message-Id: <5.0.2.1.2.20020727154450.02368800@pop.earthlink.net>
Date: Sat, 27 Jul 2002 15:46:12 -0400
To: peace-announce@mit.edu
From: "Amro M. Farid" <amfarid@alum.mit.edu>
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Weeks ago on this list, someone posted an email regarding Amnesty's=20
position in the middle east conflict. The email only reflected on side of=
=20
Amnesty's position. I now bring to to you the other side.
>Date: Sat, 27 Jul 2002 01:15:26 -0400
>X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.79 [en] (Win98; U)
>X-Accept-Language: en
>To: bugsbunny@MIT.EDU
>Subject: [NEWS] Israel's 'arbitrary' detention of Palestinians condemned
>
>Excerpt:
>
> Figures from Amnesty International, released in May, state that
> since Feb. 27 more than 8,500 Palestinians have been arbitrarily
> detained.
>
> Most have since been released, but as many as 2,000 remain in
> Israeli custody, many under administrative detention, which allows
> Israel to hold Palestinians without charge for blocks of six
> months. Those who are charged with specific crimes are tried in
> military courts where evidence is kept secret from both the
> prisoner and his or her lawyer.
>
> Israel's Ministry for Justice referred all questions to the Israel
> Defense Force (IDF). The IDF avoided answering questions about
> human rights violations. An IDF spokesman did say: "It's true the
> people are inconvenienced, but this is the best way to do it. We
> are in a situation of a certain type of war; we try our best under
> difficult circumstances."
>
> .
> .
> .
>
> Fighel says Palestinians are offered "opportunities" to collaborate
> with Israel during interrogation.
>
> "It's not Club Med, that's true," he says of the conditions facing
> detainees. "But I would be very critical of any evidence of
> torture. It's not in the [guidelines governing detention policy]."
>
><p07s02-wome.htm>http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0726/p07s02-wome.html
>from the July 26, 2002 edition -=20
><http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0726/p07s02-wome.html>http://www.csmonitor.c=
om/2002/0726/p07s02-wome.html=20
>
>
>Israel's 'arbitrary' detention of Palestinians condemned
>
>
>
>Human-rights watchers warn that recent detentions violate the Geneva=20
>Convention.
>
>By Catherine Taylor | Special to The Christian Science Monitor
>
>JERUSALEM - Assem Shaqain was walking home one evening after closing his=20
>father's carpentry shop when he was stopped by Israeli soldiers. He was=20
>told to get into a military jeep and taken to an interrogation center near=
=20
>his home.
>
>For the next 24 hours the boy, 15, says he was systematically beaten and=20
>questioned by a team of eight interrogators who wanted to know what he was=
=20
>doing on the street after dark. During interrogation, Assem says he was=20
>blindfolded and his hands were tied. He was struck with what he says felt=
=20
>like a metal pole and dragged by his bound hands up and down stairs. He=20
>was left standing for hours at a time then told to lie face down on the=20
>floor while a dog circled his body, sniffing his face and genitals.
>
>After many hours Shaqain was forced to sign a confession, written in=20
>Hebrew, admitting he had "attempted to throw stones." He was brought=20
>before a military court and sentenced to three months prison, periods of=20
>it served in solitary confinement.
>
>"This experience has changed me a lot," Assem says. "I feel nervous all=20
>the time, and I dream I am still in the prison. I have started to hate the=
=20
>occupation more and more. I did nothing to deserve this treatment."
>
>Israel says the policy of detaining Palestinians =96 some 600,000 since=20
>Israel took control of the West Bank and Gaza in 1967 =96 is a crucial part=
=20
>of gaining intelligence and disabling militant networks.
>
>But human rights advocates, including Amnesty International, have=20
>condemned the policy as a gross abuse of human rights that violates the=20
>Geneva Convention.
>
>Their concerns are twofold. The arbitrary nature of the detentions =96=
which=20
>target all males of a certain age regardless of whether Israel has any=20
>reason to suspect them =96 violates Article 33 of the fourth Geneva=20
>Convention which states that "no protected person may be punished for an=20
>offense he or she has not personally committed."
>
>Secondly, human rights advocates say, once in detention, Palestinian=20
>prisoners are not informed of the reasons for arrest, are denied access to=
=20
>lawyers and are prevented from informing family of the arrest and place of=
=20
>detention =96 also a violation of the Geneva Convention. But because the=20
>current conflict is not considered a war, human rights conventions=20
>covering the treatment of prisoners of war do not apply.
>
>In recent months, the policy =96 justified by Israel according to a series=
=20
>of Military Orders =96 has been significantly stepped up. Figures from=20
>Amnesty International, released in May, state that since Feb. 27 more than=
=20
>8,500 Palestinians have been arbitrarily detained.
>
>Most have since been released, but as many as 2,000 remain in Israeli=20
>custody, many under administrative detention, which allows Israel to hold=
=20
>Palestinians without charge for blocks of six months. Those who are=20
>charged with specific crimes are tried in military courts where evidence=20
>is kept secret from both the prisoner and his or her lawyer.
>
>Israel's Ministry for Justice referred all questions to the Israel Defense=
=20
>Force (IDF). The IDF avoided answering questions about human rights=20
>violations. An IDF spokesman did say: "It's true the people are=20
>inconvenienced, but this is the best way to do it. We are in a situation=20
>of a certain type of war; we try our best under difficult circumstances."
>
>Israel uses military justice to drive the policy. In the past, Military=20
>Order 378, written in 1970, has been used to detain Palestinians. But new=
=20
>military orders have been added that allow Palestinians to be held without=
=20
>any evidence against them and without charge for up to six weeks "for the=
=20
>purposes of investigation."
>
>A'azem Bishara, an Israeli-Arab lawyer who represents detainees for The=20
>Palestin- ian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the=20
>Environment calls the policy "mass detention without any grounds."
>
>"Being Palestinian and male is enough to make you suspicious," Mr. Bishara=
=20
>says. "We are talking about almost an entire generation that has been=20
>arrested and humiliated."
>
>Mohammed Yousef, 18, says he was ambushed in his home one night after=20
>refusing to attend the local mosque for questioning. "It was raining, and=
=20
>we were left outside without anything to protect us," he says. "We didn't=
=20
>even have any blankets or enough to eat. We were given one apple and one=20
>tub of yogurt to share between 10 of us." He was subsequently released but=
=20
>admits he has thrown stones at Israeli soldiers in the past.
>
>Bishara says most detainees are held in makeshift quarters =96 usually=
large=20
>tents, with 22 prisoners per tent. Mattresses, described as thin, are=20
>issued. Sometimes two or three prisoners share one mattress.
>
>Up to 10 percent are children under 18, according to Defense for Children=
=20
>International (Palestine Section), an aid group that provides free legal=20
>advice to minors.
>
>To cope with the increased number of detainees, Israel has reopened an=20
>isolated prison in the Negev Desert.
>
>Yoni Fighel, a retired IDF colonel and analyst at the International Policy=
=20
>Institute for Counter Terrorism in Herzliya, says the detention policy is=
=20
>an essential part of fighting terror activity. "If you want to intercept=20
>terrorism before it occurs, you must detain people, whether it is based on=
=20
>intelligence, inquiries, or interrogation."
>
>Yet Mr. Fighel agrees that "an in-built tension exists between civil=20
>rights and combating terrorism.
>
>"Of course, it would be better [that detainees] are those where we have=20
>100 percent evidence of a connection to terrorism, whether passive or=20
>active," Fighel says. "The possibility of excessive detention can't be=20
>excluded, but some of these detentions are necessary to increase=20
>[Israel's] intelligence capability."
>
>After the Oslo Accords were signed in 1993 and Israel withdrew from the=20
>main population centers in the West Bank and Gaza, a decrease in=20
>intelligence-gathering capacity followed. "We were out of the business,"=20
>says Fighel. "Now we face a situation where ... we have to build again our=
=20
>intelligence capabilities. This can be done during interrogation of=20
>detainees."
>
>Fighel says Palestinians are offered "opportunities" to collaborate with=20
>Israel during interrogation.
>
>"It's not Club Med, that's true," he says of the conditions facing=20
>detainees. "But I would be very critical of any evidence of torture. It's=
=20
>not in the [guidelines governing detention policy]."
>
>Amnesty International has requested an independent inquiry to investigate=
=20
>arbitrary detentions and reports of abuse.
>
>
><http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0726/p07s02-wome.html>Full HTML version of=
=20
>this story which may include photos, graphics, and related links
>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
| Amro M. Farid <amfarid@alum.mit.edu>
| Solid State Scientific Corporation 1209 Boylston Street #30
| MIT Mechanical Engineering Boston MA 02139
| Home: (617) 536-6096 http://web.mit.edu/amfarid/www
| Work: (781) 377-5110=20
--=====================_69641859==_.ALT
Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
<html>
Weeks ago on this list, someone posted an email regarding Amnesty's
position in the middle east conflict. The email only reflected on
side of Amnesty's position. I now bring to to you the other
side. <br>
<blockquote type=3Dcite class=3Dcite cite>Date: Sat, 27 Jul 2002 01:15:26
-0400<br>
X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.79 [en] (Win98; U)<br>
X-Accept-Language: en<br>
To: bugsbunny@MIT.EDU<br>
Subject: [NEWS] Israel's 'arbitrary' detention of Palestinians condemned
<br>
<br>
Excerpt: <br>
<br>
<tt> Figures from Amnesty International, released in May,
state that</tt> <br>
<tt> since Feb. 27 more than 8,500 Palestinians have been
arbitrarily</tt> <br>
<tt> detained.</tt> <br>
<br>
<tt> Most have since been released, but as many as 2,000
remain in</tt> <br>
<tt> Israeli custody, many under administrative detention,
which allows</tt> <br>
<tt> Israel to hold Palestinians without charge for blocks of
six</tt> <br>
<tt> months. Those who are charged with specific crimes are
tried in</tt> <br>
<tt> military courts where evidence is kept secret from both
the</tt> <br>
<tt> prisoner and his or her lawyer.</tt> <br>
<br>
<tt> Israel's Ministry for Justice referred all questions to
the Israel</tt> <br>
<tt> Defense Force (IDF). The IDF avoided answering questions
about</tt> <br>
<tt> human rights violations. An IDF spokesman did say:
"It's true the</b></tt> <br>
<tt> people are inconvenienced,</b> but this is the best way
to do it. We</tt> <br>
<tt> are in a situation of a certain type of war; we try our
best under</tt> <br>
<tt> difficult circumstances."</tt> <br>
<br>
<tt> .</tt> <br>
<tt> .</tt> <br>
<tt> .</tt> <br>
<br>
<tt> Fighel says Palestinians are offered
"opportunities" to collaborate</tt> <br>
<tt> with Israel during interrogation.</tt> <br>
<br>
<tt> "It's not Club Med, that's true,"</b> he says
of the conditions facing</tt> <br>
<tt> detainees. "But I would be very critical of any
evidence of</tt> <br>
<tt> torture. It's not in the [guidelines governing detention
policy]."</tt> <br>
<br>
<a href=3D"p07s02-wome.htm">http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0726/p07s02-wome.h=
tml</a>
<br>
<font size=3D1>from the July 26, 2002 edition -
<a href=3D"http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0726/p07s02-wome.html">http://www.c=
smonitor.com/2002/0726/p07s02-wome.html</a></font>
<br>
<h2><font face=3D"Georgia" size=3D5 color=3D"#556688"><b>Israel's=
'arbitrary' detention of Palestinians condemned</b></font></h2><br>
<br>
<font size=3D2><b>Human-rights watchers warn that recent detentions violate=
the Geneva Convention.</b></font> <br>
<br>
<font size=3D2><b>By Catherine Taylor</b> | Special to The Christian Science=
Monitor</font> <br>
<br>
<font size=3D2><b>JERUSALEM</b> - Assem Shaqain was walking home one evening=
after closing his father's carpentry shop when he was stopped by Israeli=
soldiers. He was told to get into a military jeep and taken to an=
interrogation center near his home.</font> <br>
<br>
<font size=3D2>For the next 24 hours the boy, 15, says he was systematically=
beaten and questioned by a team of eight interrogators who wanted to know=
what he was doing on the street after dark. During interrogation, Assem=
says he was blindfolded and his hands were tied. He was struck with what he=
says felt like a metal pole and dragged by his bound hands up and down=
stairs. He was left standing for hours at a time then told to lie face down=
on the floor while a dog circled his body, sniffing his face and=
genitals.</font> <br>
<br>
<font size=3D2>After many hours Shaqain was forced to sign a confession,=
written in Hebrew, admitting he had "attempted to throw stones."=
He was brought before a military court and sentenced to three months=
prison, periods of it served in solitary confinement.</font> <br>
<br>
<font size=3D2>"This experience has changed me a lot," Assem says.=
"I feel nervous all the time, and I dream I am still in the prison. I=
have started to hate the occupation more and more. I did nothing to deserve=
this treatment."</font> <br>
<br>
<font size=3D2>Israel says the policy of detaining Palestinians =96 some=
600,000 since Israel took control of the West Bank and Gaza in 1967 =96 is=
a crucial part of gaining intelligence and disabling militant=
networks.</font> <br>
<br>
<font size=3D2>But human rights advocates, including Amnesty International,=
have condemned the policy as a gross abuse of human rights that violates=
the Geneva Convention.</font> <br>
<br>
<font size=3D2>Their concerns are twofold. The arbitrary nature of the=
detentions =96 which target all males of a certain age regardless of=
whether Israel has any reason to suspect them =96 violates Article 33 of=
the fourth Geneva Convention which states that "no protected person=
may be punished for an offense he or she has not personally=
committed."</font> <br>
<br>
<font size=3D2>Secondly, human rights advocates say, once in detention,=
Palestinian prisoners are not informed of the reasons for arrest, are=
denied access to lawyers and are prevented from informing family of the=
arrest and place of detention =96 also a violation of the Geneva=
Convention. But because the current conflict is not considered a war, human=
rights conventions covering the treatment of prisoners of war do not=
apply.</font> <br>
<br>
<font size=3D2>In recent months, the policy =96 justified by Israel=
according to a series of Military Orders =96 has been significantly stepped=
up. Figures from Amnesty International, released in May, state that since=
Feb. 27 more than 8,500 Palestinians have been arbitrarily detained.</font>=
<br>
<br>
<font size=3D2>Most have since been released, but as many as 2,000 remain in=
Israeli custody, many under administrative detention, which allows Israel=
to hold Palestinians without charge for blocks of six months. Those who are=
charged with specific crimes are tried in military courts where evidence is=
kept secret from both the prisoner and his or her lawyer.</font> <br>
<br>
<font size=3D2>Israel's Ministry for Justice referred all questions to the=
Israel Defense Force (IDF). The IDF avoided answering questions about human=
rights violations. An IDF spokesman did say: "It's true the people are=
inconvenienced, but this is the best way to do it. We are in a situation of=
a certain type of war; we try our best under difficult=
circumstances."</font> <br>
<br>
<font size=3D2>Israel uses military justice to drive the policy. In the=
past, Military Order 378, written in 1970, has been used to detain=
Palestinians. But new military orders have been added that allow=
Palestinians to be held without any evidence against them and without=
charge for up to six weeks "for the purposes of=
investigation."</font> <br>
<br>
<font size=3D2>A'azem Bishara, an Israeli-Arab lawyer who represents=
detainees for The Palestin- ian Society for the Protection of Human Rights=
and the Environment calls the policy "mass detention without any=
grounds."</font> <br>
<br>
<font size=3D2>"Being Palestinian and male is enough to make you=
suspicious," Mr. Bishara says. "We are talking about almost an=
entire generation that has been arrested and humiliated."</font> <br>
<br>
<font size=3D2>Mohammed Yousef, 18, says he was ambushed in his home one=
night after refusing to attend the local mosque for questioning. "It=
was raining, and we were left outside without anything to protect us,"=
he says. "We didn't even have any blankets or enough to eat. We were=
given one apple and one tub of yogurt to share between 10 of us." He=
was subsequently released but admits he has thrown stones at Israeli=
soldiers in the past.</font> <br>
<br>
<font size=3D2>Bishara says most detainees are held in makeshift quarters =
=96 usually large tents, with 22 prisoners per tent. Mattresses, described=
as thin, are issued. Sometimes two or three prisoners share one=
mattress.</font> <br>
<br>
<font size=3D2>Up to 10 percent are children under 18, according to Defense=
for Children International (Palestine Section), an aid group that provides=
free legal advice to minors.</font> <br>
<br>
<font size=3D2>To cope with the increased number of detainees, Israel has=
reopened an isolated prison in the Negev Desert.</font> <br>
<br>
<font size=3D2>Yoni Fighel, a retired IDF colonel and analyst at the=
International Policy Institute for Counter Terrorism in Herzliya, says the=
detention policy is an essential part of fighting terror activity. "If=
you want to intercept terrorism before it occurs, you must detain people,=
whether it is based on intelligence, inquiries, or=
interrogation."</font> <br>
<br>
<font size=3D2>Yet Mr. Fighel agrees that "an in-built tension exists=
between civil rights and combating terrorism.</font> <br>
<br>
<font size=3D2>"Of course, it would be better [that detainees] are=
those where we have 100 percent evidence of a connection to terrorism,=
whether passive or active," Fighel says. "The possibility of=
excessive detention can't be excluded, but some of these detentions are=
necessary to increase [Israel's] intelligence capability."</font> <br>
<br>
<font size=3D2>After the Oslo Accords were signed in 1993 and Israel=
withdrew from the main population centers in the West Bank and Gaza, a=
decrease in intelligence-gathering capacity followed. "We were out of=
the business," says Fighel. "Now we face a situation where ... we=
have to build again our intelligence capabilities. This can be done during=
interrogation of detainees."</font> <br>
<br>
<font size=3D2>Fighel says Palestinians are offered=
"opportunities" to collaborate with Israel during=
interrogation.</font> <br>
<br>
<font size=3D2>"It's not Club Med, that's true," he says of the=
conditions facing detainees. "But I would be very critical of any=
evidence of torture. It's not in the [guidelines governing detention=
policy]."</font> <br>
<br>
<font size=3D2>Amnesty International has requested an independent inquiry to=
investigate arbitrary detentions and reports of abuse.</font> <br>
<br>
<br>
<font size=3D2><a=
href=3D"http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0726/p07s02-wome.html">Full HTML=
version of this story which may include photos, graphics, and related=
links</a></font> <br>
</blockquote>
<x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br>
| Amro M.=
Farid<x-tab> </x-tab><x-tab>=
</x-tab><x-tab> &=
nbsp; </x-tab><amfarid@alum.mit.edu><br>
| Solid State Scientific=
Corporation =
<x-tab> </x-tab>1209 Boylston Street #30<br>
| MIT Mechanical=
Engineering<x-tab> </x-tab> &=
nbsp; =
<x-tab> </x-tab>Boston MA=
02139<br>
<br>
| Home: (617)=
536-6096<x-tab> </x-tab><x-t=
ab> </x-tab><a=
href=3D"http://web.mit.edu/amfarid/www"=
eudora=3D"autourl">http://web.mit.edu/amfarid/www</a><br>
| Work: (781) 377-5110 </html>
--=====================_69641859==_.ALT--
