1 Nov. 05

The Israeli Cabinet's Ministerial Committee for Legislation recently approved a bill that will allow non-residents of Israel who are suspected of having committed security offenses to he held almost completely incommunicado for fifty days. The bill is expected to be brought before the Knesset plenum for a first reading in the coming days. If enacted, the law will severely breach the fundamental rights of suspects in criminal proceedings, and increase the risk of maltreatment during interrogations.

The bill empowers the General Security Service to delay bringing persons suspected of committing security offenses before a judge for a period of ninety-six hours, and to prevent the suspect from meeting with an attorney for a cumulative period of fifty days, upon judicial approval. Of even more concern is that following the initial approval of detention, the court may extend the detention in the absence of the suspect at the hearing.

The right of a detainee to maintain ongoing contact with the external world is one of the guarantees that the detention will not be used as means of pressure, and is a protection against torture during interrogation. This bill illegally discriminates against detainees based on their residency, with Israeli residents being treated one way and foreign residents - the bill is intended particularly for Gaza residents - in a different way. Such discrimination flagrantly breaches the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and gravely infringes the detainees' rights.

Time to act!

Write to MK Michael Eitan, Chair of the Knesset's Law Committee and request that he remove the proposed law from the Knesset's agenda. MK Eitan may be reached by fax at +972-2-6496404, or by e-mail at meitan@knesset.gov.il.

On 6 October 2005, the High Court of Justice ruled that it was illegal to use Palestinian civilians during military operations. The decision was in response to a petition filed in 2002 by B'Tselem and six other human rights organizations. In its ruling, the Court also prohibited use of the "Prior Warning Procedure," which replaced the "Neighbor Procedure" in July 2003. The court held that any use of Palestinian civilians in IDF military operations is completely forbidden.

According to media reports, IDF Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Dan Halutz, ordered that IDF soldiers cease using Palestinian civilians in military operations. The true test of this ruling, however, will be in its implementation, particularly as the IDF breached the court's interim injunction against use of the "Neighbor Procedure." The IDF must now translate the ruling into clear commands, and order its commanders to inform all soldiers in the field that it is absolutely forbidden to use civilians to perform military tasks.

On 6 September 2005, IDF soldiers stopped a Palestinian taxi near 'Araba, in the Jenin District, and ordered the driver and its adult, male passengers to undress in public. The soldiers detained the Palestinians for more than four hours, with the men who had been forced to undress wrapped only in nylon sheets.

The incident began about 1:00 P.M., when soldiers ordered the taxi driver to stop on the side of the road, get out of the car, and take off his clothes. Jasser Ibrahim, one of the passengers in the taxi, told B'Tselem: "He tried to convince the soldier not to make him take off his underpants, but the soldier threatened him and said on the megaphone, 'We are going to shoot you.' The driver took off his underpants, and the soldier ordered him to go over to them. The soldier ordered him to turn around all the time, even though he was naked and did not have a weapon on him. When the driver reached the soldiers, they gave him a white plastic robe and ordered him to sit down."

After that, the soldiers ordered the other passengers, one after the other, to get out and undress. After four hours, five of the Palestinians were released, and three were kept for further detention.

B'Tselem has not yet received the IDF Spokesperson's response to the incident.

This year's olive harvest in the West Bank has begun. The harvest comes in the wake of extensive damage to the groves during the construction of the Separation Barrier, and strict restrictions on movement on Palestinian farmers trying to reach their land west of the Barrier. Many farmers who are now permitted to enter their land to harvest the olives were not allowed access during the year to do the necessary weeding and pruning. As a result, their fields are now in poor condition, which will make the harvest more difficult and lead to a smaller crop.

The restrictions on movement and the institution of the permit regime resulting from the Barrier come in addition to the restrictions that the IDF has imposed for several years on the freedom of movement of Palestinians with farmland near Israeli settlements and outposts. During the 2004 harvest, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel and Rabbis for Human Rights petitioned the High Court of Justice on behalf of five villages in the West Bank, to permit the residents to gain access to fields that settlers had taken control of with IDF protection. The petition described incidents in which IDF soldiers stood by and watched as settlers attacked Palestinians.

The IDF claimed that restricting Palestinian access to these areas was necessary to protect the settlers. In a hearing before the Court in September 2005, the justices sharply criticized the policy of closing farmland and preventing farmers from reaching their land most of the year. Regarding the IDF's contention that the policy was needed to protect the settlers, Justice Dorit Beinisch pointed out that the state failed to provide any factual basis proving a connection between the closure of the area and attacks against Jewish settlements and outposts.