Israel Accused Of Psychological Torture

Human Rights Group Says Ban Of Physical Torture Has Not Protected Palestinian Prisoners From Abuse

(AP)  Israel has stepped up its psychological torture of Palestinian suspects - in part by insinuating their families would be hurt if they didn't cooperate, a human rights group said Sunday.

The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel made the allegation in an 86-page report that examined six cases over the past year. It says Israel has put more emphasis on psychological torture since Israel's Supreme Court restricted the use of physical torture in a 1999 ruling.

In one case, the group said, Israeli agents convinced a suspect his wife had also been arrested and tortured, driving him to attempt suicide. In another, they detained a couple for an extended period, tortured them physically, and withheld information about their two young children to try to break them.

The Shin Bet internal security agency, which conducts the interrogations, denied the charges.

A parliamentary committee heard the group's findings in a special session Sunday.

A 1999 Israeli Supreme Court ruling sharply limited the Shin Bet's interrogation methods, essentially outlawing torture except when there was clear evidence the suspect had information that could save people from an attack in the making. The Supreme Court outlawed what the Shin Bet called "moderate physical pressure," such as exposure to extreme temperatures and tying up detainees in painful positions.

However, the Shin Bet has come under criticism for its new methods, which include shackling suspects in contorted positions and depriving them of sleep for long periods of time.

Yoav Loeff, a spokesman for the human rights group, said the Shin Bet has added using relatives as leverage during interrogations.

"They use family members to force people to confess and they cross all the red lines along the way," he said.

The Shin Bet said in a statement that it never detains relatives of suspects, or presents false information to its suspects in an attempt to elicit information.

"Terrorist investigations are conducted by the Shin Bet according to the Supreme Court ruling, under the restrictions of the law and the tight supervision of the Justice Ministry and the courts," a statement read.

"The information acquired in these investigations allows for foiling acts of terror, and many civilians in Israel owe their lives to these actions," it added.


The report Family Matters: Using Family Members to Pressure Detainees Under GSS Interrogation" is available online, in Hebrew; an English language version will be available soon.

[inventagod]

No matter what, buSHAMErica stands behind these terrorists.
Why?

[downsteamjim]

If implying danger to your relatives if your do not comply with our demands were implimented here, most of the rhetoric of our Democrat candidates would fit. Vote Democrat or old people & children will starve, die horried death, lose their planet....

[hungry1968]

What do you mean "accused"?

Isn''t the TERROR of your house getting bombed or shelled by IDF forces in the middle of the night, a form of "psychological torture"?

[johnshaft4]

Screw Israel... They are nothing more then a liability for us. What has Israel done for us lately?

[hungry1968]

Screw Israel... They are nothing more then a liability for us. What has Israel done for us lately?

Posted by JohnShaft4 at 12:11 PM : Apr 13, 2008



I''ll go a step further:

Other than making us many times MORE susceptible to terrorism, what has Israel done for us EVER?

[idnnsg]

"Pretty soon the folks with Bleeding Heart Syndrome..."

Blah, blah, blah...

"Bleeding hearts"? I suspose YOUR heart DOESN''T "bleed"/pump blood to your brain? THAT explains your difficulting in grasping the concept that torture is evil.

Not only is torture evil, but it does not work! Torture does NOT provide any useful information. What torture does is to get the tortured person to tell you what he thinks you want to hear, in a desperate attempt to get you to stop torturing him! That is NOT reliable information. It is useless. The information you get depends entirely on what you suggest or imply that you already believe. That is totally WORTHLESS. It is not "information" at all.

Anyone who tortures another human being (even little sadists like Bush who tortured animals such as frogs by ramming firecrackers up their buttttts, lighting the fuse, and cackling with glee when they blew up) is EVIL. There is simply no other word for it.

Nothing says "evil" like "torture"!!!

[j-whitman]

"Bleeding Heart Syndrome" ????

That''s the Far Fringe of our right wing,,, they are the one''s crying for fulfillment of their biblical prophacy, inspite of the fact that Israel isn''t helping in the War on Terror.

[j-whitman]

"Oh, Poor Israel, they can''t defend themselves"

They have the biggest military & economy in the region & around 200 nuclear WMD''s ---- Screw Israel

[j-whitman]

"Oh, Poor Israel, they can''''t defend themselves"

After just celibrating their 60th anniversary -- They are still waging genocide & apartheid

[yongamerica]

And the terrorists, and Iran''s proxy army in Palestine are eating this up. At least the Israelis aren''t setting up firing squads to shoot suspects in the streets like Hamas likes to do.

[j-whitman]

yongamerica,,,, We are Israel''s "Proxy Army" in Iraq

Where are they in either Iraq or Afhaganistan ?? -- Screw Israel,, they have the biggenst military & economy in the region & adding to terrorism with their genocide & apartheid

When I was in boot camp here in the US, I was deprived of sleep for 3 whole days. This was part of the training.

So sleep deprivation is OK for training, but we dare not use it as a means of getting information out of killers?

[hermitdave]

I wonder how many people understand the difference between the Palestinian Israeli situation and the illegal holding of humans in Club Gitmo. The Pals and Jews live close to each other. They are at war, not that either side is right, but that is not my point. The idea that Afghan goat herders and cab drivers, hiding in caves, master minded 9/11 is absurd silliness. No way could anyone in the USA be harmed by any Afghan from their cave. Unless of course the American is addicted to HEROIN.

[hermitdave]

Pilgrim after missing 3 days sleep in boot camp, were you given a orange jump suit and put back in a wire cage? Held for 5 years with no right to a lawyer or even told what you were charged with.

[prinzowhales]

All you have to do is visit the former Israeli prison they abandonned upon leaving Lebanon the first time, and talk to some of Israel''s victims there to know that they do more than psychological torture...These vile creatures have trained and advised every terrorist state from South America to the Shah''s SAVAK and Mugabe''s terror state in Zimbawel.

You will be happy to know that the United States is required by law to supply Israel with oil should she need it, any time...regardless of the situation.

http://www.wakeupfromyourslumber.com/node/4504

And remember, they demand you pay them their aid in Euros...talk about your big, fat Welfare Queen in her Cadillac...

[irliberal]

Israel: The boil on the backside of the American economy.

[timdgrim]

How about Joe Lieberman..he ran with Al Gore in 2000 on the Democratic Ticket...now he is right by the side of GrandPa McCain...Talking about being two faced...He is only concerned with what benefits Israel.

[gwno1]

We should just nuke the whole mideast Problem solved

[jt_lancer]

US aid to Israel makes Americans less safe and poorer as a result.

END ALL FOREIGN AID TO ISRAEL!

[rhs648]

Thank you pilgrimsprog. Ask any Marine. It is ok to shave your head, require you to wear a dress uniform that is too tight, march you until you are ready to drop, and belittle you until your will is broken. Do the same to an enemy hell-bent on destroying you and your way of life and it is torture. Get real!

[gaye5]

Ok, ok let me get this straight. Muslims come into a free Israel, set off bombs killing hundreds of babies, children women and men every week, and then when they take a prisoner they have to say, Please Mr Prisoner please tell us all your secrets before one of your people kill more of our babies..

[rhs648]

The Democratic party decided not to support Joe Lieberman in his last bid for the Senate elections. He won only because Connecticut has more independent voters than democrats and republicans. He was re-elected because of independent voters. That makes him a free agent. He can support either side now that his own party left him hanging.

[gaye5]

JT_Lancer, you obviously dont know that Muslims destruction of Americans and America started well before sep 11th..in fact at least 20 years before and America in its wisdom for then did nothing, perhaps you should read up on some of the attrocities done against Americans which has killed thousands before you say to let aid not go to Israel.. perhaps if we stopped buying oil from Muslims countries so as they cannot aquire all these weapons we might be far better off.
It is Israel which has given the world many of its medical miracles and other great inventions. Perhaps you should read what is going on out there before you throw hatred towards Israel..

[johnshaft4]

Why are we supporting Israel? Do they have any oil? NO.
The Isarelis are nothing more then back stabbing parasites. Hell, we should be GIVING the Iranians nukes to rid ourselves of these jerks.

[johnshaft4]

curse- Pack your bags and head to the Gaza strip to torture Palestinians. Jeezus loves you.

[coco0331]

Lieberman has one main priority, the country of Israel. Everything else including the U.S. is second rate and of no importance to him. I believe in Israel"s right to exist, and I also believe they don''t need our help. Can Lieberman.

[milesbrown49]

Gaye5: As a New Yorker, I remember the first attack on the WTC. I knew then that it made no sense that the muslims would do it. They had nothing to gain. After the second attack, I saw several Jewish men cheering it on. It was also reported several times there were other citings of the same. Who had more to gain? Who made the muslims look bad and took away the potential for any empathy for the muslims while they do their dirt? Some of us are awoke!!!

[hermitdave]

Gaye5 perhaps you can tell all us how different the death of Jewish children by Muslims is than the death of Muslim children by Jewish rockets fired into buildings. Are they not both evil acts?

[gce65]

Israel engages in psychological AND physical torture.

No mention in this story of camp 1391, Israel''s secret torture prison. Look it up. There''s not a ton of info on it, and Israeli govt officially denies it, but there''s enough info out there to know it exists.

It''s supposedly up near the NW corner of the West Bank, on the Israeli side along the road from Afula to Hadera. That''s only about 10 miles NW of the West Bank city of Jenin.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_1391

[gce65]

Israel''s secret torture prison Camp 1391 would also be right near the ancient biblical sight of Megiddo, as in the place where Armageddon is supposed to take place, if you believe in all that stuff.
I just think it''s ironic, or actually very fitting.

[dinodavid220]

Israel is just really a bunch p-u-s-s-y made strong by the USA.....poor PALESTINE''S....they won this country fair and square eons ago, then have it taking away and give the the poor JEWS.....no wonder they will never have peace.

[cbsblogger]

How dare you anti-Semites criticize Israel for their misdeeds?

[rhs648]

Gaye5: As a New Yorker, I remember the first attack on the WTC. I knew then that it made no sense that the muslims would do it. They had nothing to gain. After the second attack, I saw several Jewish men cheering it on. It was also reported several times there were other citings of the same. Who had more to gain? Who made the muslims look bad and took away the potential for any empathy for the muslims while they do their dirt? Some of us are awoke!!!

Posted by milesbrown49

Perhaps some of you are morally broke. Apparently you don''t recall Muslims cheering when they heard about the twin tower destruction or the murder of innocent Israeli civilians. That, my friend, could be seen both on TV and in newspapers. Imagine American citizens waving their rifles with their faces covered screaming death to ....

[eddie3dfx]

crazy muzzies are cutting off heads and packing in nails into backpacks killing hundreds and you are worried about how we interrogate them?
If this goes on, america will become a caliphate. At least the israelis get this right

[johnshaft4]

curse- What has Israel done for us lately? We fought a bogus WMD proxy war for them. Now, we are to fight Iran who hasn''t done anything to us (except babysit "hostages") as compared to our backing of the evil tyrant Shah and supporting Saddam in the Iran/Iraq war. Screw Israel...

[rickstas]

The U.S. got all of its information on how to torture Arabs from Isreal!!!

[johnshaft4]

Wolfowitz, Perle, Feith, Libby, Addington, Kristol, Krauthammer, AEI, PNAC, AIPAC are all treasonous Jews that concocted bogus WMD fantasys at the expense of American life, limb and national treasure for their beloved Israel. Hang these traitor pigs like Saddam.
No more bood for Israel.

[rhs648]

You also forgot about the Israelis in the white van who filmed themselves holding up a lighter in front of the towers as they burned and exclaimed ''''now Americans will understand how we feel''''. I remember it; maybe you need to refresh your memory.

Posted by curse914

You are correct. I don''t remeber the white van incident you refer to. Let us suppose it happened. One white van with a small group versus hundreds of thousands of Muslims throughout the Middle East waving their rifles, joyous, and wanting more. Where is your sense of proportion?

[sistatee-2009]

Don''t forget, we need the Israelis to take care of the Iranian nuclear problem, since we don''t have the nads to do it ourselves.

[johnshaft4]

Sistatee- Who is going to deal with Israeli Jew nuke problem?

[johnshaft4]

I would also like to point out that Israel is in direct violation of the 1970 Nuclear Non Proliferation Act. As such, that are not entitled to a red cent of US foreign aid. Screw ''em. I could care less if Hamas of Hezbellah get nukes to even the playing field.

[pure122]

Stop picking on Isreal for torturing people. The United States of America water boards people. Every country has their own method of torture whether you like it or not. They are protecting themselves from terorist threats at all costs. If there were people running into our country strapped with bombs, I would expect the United States to take more drastic measures as well.

[gce65]

Posted by cbsblogger:
"How dare you anti-Semites criticize Israel for their misdeeds?"

Criticism of Israel does not equal anti-Semitism, since Palestinians and other Arab peoples are also Semitic tribes. Israel just doesn''t like to admit there are others "in the club."

[pure122]

Criticism of Israel does not equal anti-Semitism, since Palestinians and other Arab peoples are also Semitic tribes. Israel just doesn''''t like to admit there are others "in the club."




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Posted by gce65 at 12:21 AM : Apr 14, 2008



THERE IS TORTURE GOING ON IN PALESTINE TO BY THEIR GOVERNMENT. THERE IS TORTURE GOING ON IN IRAN. THEIR IS TORTURE IN NORTH KOREA, THERE IS TORTURE IN CHINA.

WHY IS ISREAL THE ONLY COUNTRY BEING PICKED ON? BECAUSE CBS DOES NOT BELIEVE IN A JEWISH STATE.

[johnshaft4]

curse- Judging by the depths of your "thoughts", you would vote for a 3rd term for your King Boy George. You are an obnoxious moron that can not substantiate your position. Grow up... Does your Mommy know that you are playing on the net past your bed time?

[johnshaft4]

Curse- Please put a gun to your head and DO NOT further louse up the gene pool by reproducing.

[johnshaft4]

curse- What the hell is "airable" land, you moron?

[johnshaft4]

curse- I''ll pay for a gift basket of Zyclon B for your dining pleasure. You are a psuedo ''intellectual''.

[johnshaft4]

curse- At least we agree on something; that being that you ARE NOT an intellectual.

[historymaj]

There is no reason to criticize the mental torture suffered by Palestinian prisoners because it is impossible to draw a line on what is acceptable. One could argue that imprisonment and deprivation constitutes a degree of mental torture. If the prisoners are not suffering physical torture they are receiving far better treatment than could be expected in any other country in the Middle East.
It is unfortunate that the President of Iran can claim that there are no homosexuals in the country (knowing they are murdered) without much criticism while Israel is attacked for messing with prisoners head. Perhaps the Israelis should incorporate "mental torture" into their religion to protect it from criticism.