Bennett accuses Jewish extremists of using ‘murder’ to destroy state

T. Belman.The law permits “pressure tactics” but not torture. But the Shin Bet permission to use such tactics. So the question is what tactics are considered to be pressure only and not torture. And did the Shin Bet exceed their permission.

Education minister backs Shin Bet in row over ‘torture’ of suspects in the killing of the Dawabsha family in July

By Stuart Winer, TOI

bennett2Education Minister Naftali Bennett on Monday voiced firm support for the Shin Bet security service and its methods in the interrogation of Jewish terror suspects, which some on the right have condemned as torture. He also harshly condemned extremists, accusing them of using “murder” in a dangerous quest to “overthrow” the state.

Bennett, a staunch supporter of the West Bank settler movement, told Army Radio that as a cabinet minister he had personally looked into claims that torture has been used on Jewish suspects held in connection with a deadly firebombing attack in the Palestinian village of Duma.

“I can assert that all the actions that are taken — and they are really extraordinary actions in light of an unusual situation — are under control, and with close legal supervision, and they are aimed at preventing the next attack,” he said.

The attack in Duma on July 31 killed three members of a Palestinian family. Only one member of the Dawabsha family — four-year-old Ahmed — survived the attack, and remains hospitalized in Israel. The 18-month-old baby Ali was killed on the night of the attack, while parents Riham and Sa’ad succumbed to their injuries in the succeeding weeks.

An unspecified number of Jewish suspects have been arrested in connection with the attack, which is being investigated as an act of terrorism, and prosecutors say they are preparing to indict them. Details of the investigation, and the identity of the suspects, have been withheld from publication by a court-imposed gag order.

Last week, the suspects’ attorneys, who at the time had been allowed to meet with all but one suspect after two weeks of being denied access their clients — and only after appeals to the High Court — alleged that the detainees were tortured during their interrogations.

In response to the accusations, Shin Bet officials said over the weekend that the agency’s actions were within the bounds of the legal mandate given to it by the cabinet.

Itamar Ben Gvir, the legal representative of one of the suspects, told the Petah Tikva Magistrate’s Court on Monday that using torture, the Shin Bet coerced his client into confessing to something he did not do.

“They demanded that he admit to things he didn’t do and he snapped,” he said, arguing that his client’s confession was inadmissible.

Inside the Dawabsha home in Duma. A doll wrapped in a Palestinian flag rests in a stroller to honor Ali. (Eric Cortellessa/Times of Israel)

Inside the Dawabsha home in Duma. A doll wrapped in a Palestinian flag rests in a stroller to honor Ali. (Eric Cortellessa/Times of Israel)

Bennett said firm action must be taken against the dozens of Jewish extremists who reject Israel’s secular government’s right to govern. He further said they have been trying to wage a biblical war to bring down the state.

“What we are seeing here is terrorism,” he continued. “There are a few dozen people whose goal is not murder; murder is just their means to undermine the foundations of the state.”

December 22, 2015 | 4 Comments »
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4 Comments / 4 Comments

  1. Education Minister Naftali Bennett,…..
    “What was done to the Duma detainees is for certain not more, and probably less, than what is done regularly to Palestinian terror suspects,” he said Tuesday. “Only those who oppose the use of far-reaching tools against Palestinian terror — and there are some people like that — have a moral right to oppose the use of the same tools against Jewish terror.”
    http://www.timesofisrael.com/foreign-report-says-american-israeli-teen-held-in-duma-case/

    baloney…. I am not interested in moral rights, or presenting images to the euros…. the palestinian enemy collective who is at war with Israel and the Jews and teaches their children that Jews are the sons of apes and pigs, cannot be treated equally. I would never consider my enemy who is trying to kill my children to be equal to my family… this is the jewish disease that prevents clear thinking. I know who my family is and who my enemy is.

  2. He also harshly condemned extremists, accusing them of using “murder” in a dangerous quest to “overthrow” the state.

    like these few zionists can get anywhere in overthrowing the state when thousands could not stop the leftists from dragging Jews from gaza.
    I think this is all a big show as they can only justify their actions by saying they want to overthrow the state, its absurd.

  3. Times of Israel reports:

    In response to the accusations, Shin Bet officials said over the weekend that the agency’s actions were within the bounds of the legal mandate given to it by the cabinet.

    The conditions of the suspects’ detention, including the denial of legal counsel for more than two weeks, were brought before the High Court of Justice last week and were approved, they noted.

    On Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected allegations that the Jewish suspects had been tortured, telling Knesset members all Shin Bet investigations were being conducted “in accordance with the law.”

  4. I asked an Israeli lawyer about the law are he replied:

    This is a very complex area. First, Israel’s unlawful combatants law lets ti detain certain persons from Hamas, Hezbollah, etc in administrative detention beyond what criminal proceedings might allow, but says nothing about interrogation methods. The High Court’s 1999 ruling on that allows moderate physical pressure in ticking bomb circumstances, but prohibits torture – whether someone is a citizen or an unlawful combatant. So I’m not sure what the question is. If you are asking philosophically, should our law allow moderate physical pressure for citizens (arab-israeli and jewish-israeli alike) versus non-citizens(palestinians, hezbollah), it’s less of a legal issue and more of a political-moral question as to whether the Knesset should make such a distinction. I doubt there would be any support for that though. The core question seems to be if people think someone is a terrorist – Jewish or Arab. If no, no pressure. If yes, even Ayelet Shaked is supporting pressure. If the shabak is going beyond pressure, then that would violate the law whether jew or arab or palestinian. That will probably come up before the High Court once the gag order gets lifted.

    I replied:

    “moderate physical pressure in ticking bomb circumstances, but prohibits torture”

    From what I read the actions of Shabak go beyond what someone would understand as “moderate physical pressure”.

    I also read that each time it is to be be applied, permission must be obtained from the government including the Cabinet. Does such permission spell out exactly what kind of “pressure” may be applied or just whom it can be applied to?

    Also, I don’t see this as a “ticking bomb” scenario. I don’t see the need to get a confession as a ticking bomb. Nor is there a fear that someone known to the suspect is about to murder someone else.

    As for whether a distinction between citizen and a Arab non-citizen is a moral or legal question, I believe it is a national security question like whether to profile. I believe that there should be a different law applied.

    Thanks for your response.