During the 1990s, Israeli courts sanctioned the use of torture to extract information from Palestinians whom authorities believed would have knowledge of planned terrorist attacks. It’s not unlike what the Americans have been doing to Iraqis, Afghans or other terrorist ‘suspects’. Maybe the US interrogaters received their training from Israel?
Like the American stuff, the Israelis described their torture of Palestinians as ‘moderate physical pressure’, which, strangely, had led to one bloke, Benan Oudeh having to amputate his testicles (otherwise known as 'balls') after he had been tortured in 1989. Bloke is now 31 years old so he must have been only in his 15-ish teens when he was tortured.
His crime? He was arrested on suspicion of having thrown stones at Israeli troops occupying his West Bank home town of Qalqilya.
The US military called such people under suspicion as terrorist ‘suspects’.
Bloke is suing the Israeli government. His lawyers said Palestinians confessed under torture to offences such as stone-throwing and membership of the banned Islamic movement Hamas.
The lawyers also stated that several Palestinians suffered permanent physical or psychological debility as a result of the Israeli torture. However, even better than their American counterparts, no Israeli police, army or intelligence officials have been charged in relation to those abuses.
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