Utterly Forbidden: The Torture And Ill-Treatment Of Palestinian Detainees

Joint report with Hamoked - Center for the Defence of the Individual,

Global Research, May 7, 2007

".....admitted that ISA (formerly the General Security Service) interrogators employ "exceptional" interrogation methods and "physical pressure" against Palestinian detainees in situations labeled "ticking bombs". B'Tselem and HaMoked - Center for the Defence of the Individual have examined these interrogation methods and the frequency with which they are used, as well as other harmful practices. The report's findings are based on the testimonies of 73 Palestinian residents of the West Bank who were arrested between July 2005 and January 2006 and interrogated by the ISA. Although it is not a representative sample, it does provide a valid indication of the frequency of the reported phenomena......

"Special" Interrogation Methods

In addition to routine measures, in some cases, probably those considered "ticking bombs", ISA interrogators also use "special" methods which mostly involve direct physical violence. The sample witnesses described seven such methods:

1) Sleep deprivation for over 24 hours (15 cases);


2) "Dry" beatings (17 cases);


3) Painful tightening of handcuffs, sometimes while cutting off blood flow (5 cases);


4) Sudden pulling of the body while causing pain in the hand joints which are cuffed to the chair (6 cases);


5) Sudden tilting of the head sideways or backwards (8 cases);


6) The "frog" crouch (forcing the detainees to crouch on tiptoes) accompanied by shoving (3 cases);


7) The "banana" position - bending the back of the interrogee in an arch while he is seated on a backless chair (5 cases).......

The ill-treatment and torture of Palestinian detainees by soldiers and ISA interrogators do not take place in a void, but rather under the auspices of the Israeli law enforcement system......"