Newsgroup: it.cultura.militare
Titolo: Intanto a Gaza l'esercito di Israele... : Beatings and abuse in the shadow of war

Beatings and abuse in the shadow of war
According to B'Tselem's research, since the beginning of Operation
Summer Rains in the Gaza Strip, on 28 June 2006, there has been a
substantial increase in cases in which Israeli soldiers and Border
Police in the West Bank beat, abuse, and humiliate Palestinians. The
increase in incidents has been particularly evident since the outbreak
of the war in Lebanon, on 12 July.
Most of the violence and abuse documented by B'Tselem during this
eight-week period did not cause severe bodily harm: a few slaps or
kicks, curses and threats, and prolonged delays as punishment, for
example. However, B'Tselem investigation also includes six particularly
serious cases, presented below, in which the Palestinians were severely
beaten and humiliated and required medical treatment.
Most of the violent incidents took place at checkpoints that are
staffed permanently or intermittently, or at one of the flying
checkpoints that the army sets up daily on West Bank roads. Some of the
incidents occurred after security forces caught a Palestinian bypassing
a checkpoint or using a road that the army has declared off-limits to
Palestinian traffic. Others took place at the checkpoint itself, either
when the Palestinian was waiting to cross or was detained for a lengthy
period for "document checks." Based on B'Tselem's research, the
checkpoints most given to violent and abusive behavior by security
forces are in the Nablus and Tulkarm districts. However, reports of
violence also involved checkpoints elsewhere in the West Bank.
The research indicates that Israel's increased restrictions on
Palestinian movement in the West Bank are the immediate cause for the
increase in violence. Particularly in the northern West Bank, the
additional restrictions Israel has imposed have heightened the friction
between soldiers and the civilian population.
However, there are indications that the events in Lebanon and Gaza also
played a role, and this for two reasons. First, information obtained by
B'Tselem indicates that reports on the extensive casualties that
Hezbollah caused among Israeli civilians and soldiers aggravated the
rage and frustration of security forces, which they was expressed in
increased aggression towards Palestinians, including various remarks
and insults directed at them. Second, with the public's attention
almost completely focused on events in Lebanon, and to a lesser extent
in Gaza, the security forces in the West Bank may have thought they
would not be held accountable for violent and abusive treatment of
Palestinians.
Both Israeli law and International Law prohibit security forces from
using excessive force in carrying out their missions. In all the cases
reported to B'Tselem during this period, soldiers and Border Police
used force that clearly exceeded that necessary to enforce the
restrictions on movement. Also, the acts described in the six cases
presented here involve cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, which
is prohibited by international law at all times and regardless of the
circumstances. Israel has the duty to investigate the complaints and,
if the facts alleged in the complaint are verified, prosecute and
punish the persons responsible.
B'Tselem has written to the Judge Advocate General and to the
Department for the Investigation of Police, in the Ministry of Justice,
demanding that they immediately open investigations into these cases.
B'Tselem also called on the chief-of-staff and the minister of defense
to issue a firm and unambiguous message to soldiers and officers that
violence and humiliation of Palestinians will not be tolerated.
Six cases
1. Soldiers beat and abuse Mater Khamaiseh, a vegetable dealer from
Jenin, near the 'Anabta checkpoint, 1 August 2006
Mater Khamaiseh was on his way back to Jenin from the vegetable market
in Beita, a village south of Nablus. He knew that the army did not
allow Jenin residents to cross the 'Anabta checkpoint, which is
situated east of Tulkarm, so he bypassed the checkpoint. As he was
driving, an army jeep with four soldiers inside stopped him. The
soldiers removed him from the truck and led him to a nearby olive
grove, where one of the soldiers fired a long volley of bullets over
his head for no reason at all. Then the soldiers beat him all over his
body, punching him and hitting him with their rifle butts, and kicking
him. In his testimony, Khamaiseh said: "The blows really hurt.... More
than once I thought they were about to kill me." One of the soldiers
shot him in the hand and, a single shot to his stomach. Apparently, the
bullets were blanks. His hand began to bleed and felt as if it were "on
fire." The shot to the stomach caused him a terrible burning sensation
and he went into shock. Later, the soldiers dragged him back to his
truck, beating him on the way. They sat him in the truck's cabin. He
managed to drive to Jenin and went to the hospital for treatment.
2. Soldiers fracture the hand of Na'im Ashtiyeh, 34, from Nablus
District, who was on his way to work, near the 'Asira-Shamaliya
checkpoint, 10 July 2006.
Na'im Ashtiyeh was caught by an IDF patrol when he was on his way to
Tubas, where he works in a Palestinian Authority ministry. He was
trying to bypass the 'Asira a-Shamaliya checkpoint, which is located
north of Nablus. The army does not let residents of Nablus District
cross this checkpoint to go north, and the other two checkpoints
leading north are closed to males from 17-35 years old. An army jeep
with four soldiers suddenly pulled up to Ashtiyeh from behind while he
was walking on a dirt road. Before he had a chance to say anything, one
of the soldiers rushed out of the jeep and hit him on the right hand
with a club, causing him great pain and swelling. The soldiers took his
identity card and ordered him to go to the checkpoint to get it back.
When he reached the checkpoint and went over to the soldiers to get his
ID card, one of the soldiers at the checkpoint ordered him to stand on
the side and wrapped him in barbed wire. He stayed like that for an
hour and a half. The soldier then removed the barbed wire and told him
to sit by the checkpoint. Forty minutes later, the soldier gave
Ashtiyeh his ID card along with a slap and then let him leave. The
X-ray taken at the hospital confirmed that his arm had been broken.
3. Soldiers beat Mu'awiyah Musa, 36, a taxi driver from Tulkarm, near
the 'Anabta checkpoint, 23 July 2006
Mu'awiyah Musa was taking passengers from Tulkarm to Ramallah and tried
to bypass the 'Anabta checkpoint because the checkpoint is closed to
males from 17-35 years old. Soldiers in a jeep stopped the taxi and one
of the soldiers pulled him out of the taxi and took him to the other
side of the jeep. The soldier took his rifle and hit him hard in the
stomach for no apparent reason. Two other soldiers kicked him. Then one
of the soldiers put his rifle to Musa's temple, cocked the trigger, and
threatened to kill him. Another soldier stopped the first soldier. The
soldiers ordered the passengers to pick up Musa and put him in the
taxi, and had one of the passengers drive the taxi back to Tulkarm.
4. Border Police officers beat Jawdat Gheith, 52, unconscious in front
of his wife and children, Beit 'Awa checkpoint, 26 June 2006
Jawdat Gheith was riding with his wife and six children (aged nine
months to fourteen years) in his car to visit relatives in Beit 'Awa.
He was not familiar with the road and mistakenly entered a road
forbidden to Palestinian traffic, a road that was for settlers only.
When he got to the checkpoint at the entrance to Beit 'Awa, the border
policemen at the checkpoint stopped him. They pulled him out of the car
and punched him and hit him with the butts of their rifle and kicked
him, all in front of his wife and children, who remained in the car.
After beating him for about ten minutes, he lost consciousness. He woke
up in a hospital in Hebron a few hours later, where he learned that,
after he had lost consciousness, his wife fainted and was treated at
the site. Gheith continues to suffer pain and has difficulty breathing.
His children still suffer emotionally from the sight of their father
being beaten.
5. Soldier beats Ibrahim 'Atallah, 32, taxi driver from Bethlehem
District, Etzion junction, 21 July 2006
Ibrahim 'Atallah was on his way to pick up passengers when he saw his
two brothers and his nephew being delayed at the Etzion junction, which
has a checkpoint that is occasionally staffed. He stopped his taxi and
went to see what happened. The soldier who was in the watchtower and
who had stopped the three Palestinians, came down from the watchtower.
He swore at 'Atallah and struck him in the mouth and chin with the
barrel of his rifle. Two Israeli policemen who were passing by
distanced the soldier and prevented him from beating 'Atallah any
further. An officer from the Civil Administration came and sent
'Atallah to the medical clinic in the nearby Efrat settlement, where
the cut on his chin was stitched up.
6. Soldiers assault 'Abdallah Khamis, 31, who was waiting in line
with his wife and children, Huwarra checkpoint, 12 August 2006
'Abdallah Khamis was returning with his wife and two infant children
after paying a condolence call. When they got to the Huwarra
checkpoint, they entered the line for males over forty years old,
women, and children. In the past, soldiers had allowed them to use that
line. Some 700 people were waiting to cross the checkpoint. After
waiting for about three hours, their turn came to cross, but the
soldier checking the identity cards ordered Khamis to go to the end of
the line. Khamis refused. When the soldier pushed his wife, Khamis
grabbed his hand. Soldiers tried to cuff Khamis's hands, and ordered
him to go where people being delayed in crossing were staying. When he
refused, the solders began to beat him. One of the soldiers smashed his
head against a wall, and another soldier hit him in the back of his
neck with his rifle barrel. Other soldiers joined in the beating, which
lasted for five minutes. Soldiers then took him to a room, beating him
on the way. Khamis was later taken to the Ariel Police Station, where
he was questioned and released on bond.
The siege policy and violence
The phenomenon of illegitimate violence by security forces against
Palestinians since the outbreak of the second intifada is closely tied
to Israel's policy restricting Palestinian freedom of movement.
B'Tselem research in recent years shows that increased restrictions on
movement bring with it greater friction between security forces and
Palestinians and more attempts by Palestinians to avoid the
restrictions so they can live a normal life. The violent behavior of
the kind described here occurs, as a matter of course, more frequently
in times of severe restrictions on movement than during periods of
relative "relaxation" of restrictions.
Since the beginning of Operation Summer Rains, the number of permanent
or occasionally staffed checkpoints has not increased: for some time
now, Israel has maintained in the West Bank about forty permanently
staffed checkpoints and some fifteen checkpoints that are staffed
intermittently. This figure does not include the checkpoints on the
Green Line or those that are the last checkpoint between the West Bank
and sovereign Israeli territory. The number of physical obstructions
(dirt mounds, concrete blocks, iron gates, and trenches) blocking
access to the main roads have not changed significantly in recent
weeks: the number has remained at about 450.
However, the restrictions on Palestinians wanting to cross certain
checkpoints have significantly worsened in recent weeks. Since the
outbreak of the war in Lebanon, for example, males aged sixteen to
thirty-five who live in Nablus, Tulkarm, and Jenin districts are not
allowed to cross checkpoints that close off these districts, unless
they have a special permit from the Civil Administration. (There were
age restrictions on males wanting to cross checkpoints around Nablus
previously, but they became more severe over the past two months.)
Also, information received by B'Tselem indicates that crossing these
checkpoints (for those who are not forbidden to cross) as well as
crossing some other checkpoints entails long, tense waits that can last
many hours.
In addition, since the beginning of Operation Summer Rains, the IDF has
set up many more surprise checkpoints on West Bank roads. Some are on
side roads that Palestinians use to bypass staffed checkpoints. The
UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
reported that, during the week of 7-13 June (which was before the
IDF's operation began), the IDF set up 106 surprise checkpoints.
During the week of 2-8 August, the number jumped to 216, an increase of
more than one hundred percent.
Finally, in recent years, Israel has completely prohibited Palestinian
vehicles from traveling on sections of certain roads in the West Bank.
On some of these roadways, Palestinian vehicles are not even allowed to
cross the road. The IDF has designated these roads for the sole use of
Israeli citizens, primarily settlers. Currently, there are sixteen such
roadways, covering more than one hundred kilometers. During the period
discussed here, this restriction on Palestinian movement has not
changed. However, the prohibition has turned these roads into a
permanent source of friction between security forces and local
Palestinians.
Prosecution of security forces for violent and abusive behavior
Unlike many violations of Palestinian human rights that Israel
justifies as necessary for "security needs," the authorities
condemn acts of beatings, abuse, and humiliation. However, this
condemnation is not backed up by proper enforcement. Many cases of
violence and abuse are not investigated, and the cases that are
investigated do not result in the filing of indictments. This situation
creates a climate of impunity for members of the security forces who
act violently toward Palestinians. It may be that the public's
concentration on events in Lebanon and Gaza has heightened this sense
of impunity.
The law enforcement system is not aware of many cases of violence and
abuse, certainly when the act does not result in serious injury. The
main reason for this lack of awareness is that the victims often do not
file complaints. The primary reason for the underreporting of violence
is that the victims do not trust the Israel law enforcement system,
which tends not to believe them and not to prosecute the offenders.
Another reason for the lack of complaints is the great amount of time
entailed in filing the complaint and seeing it through to the end, and
the degrading treatment Palestinians often receive at the police
station and Israeli District Coordination Office. The efforts of human
rights organizations, B'Tselem among them, in locating cases and
bringing them to the attention of the authorities, as great as the
efforts may be, cannot overcome the systemic failures that result in
many victims not filing complaints.
These failures result in the relatively small number of Military Police
investigations into violent and abusive treatment of Palestinians.
According to figures provided to B'Tselem by the IDF Spokesperson's
Office, from the beginning of the second intifada, in September 2000,
until June 2005, 261 investigations of violent and abusive treatment
were opened (a request for updated figures has not yet been answered).
Complaints filed against the Border Police are handled by the Justice
Ministry's Department for the Investigation of Police. B'Tselem does
not have information on the Department's figures regarding
Palestinian complaints against police officers.
However, the fundamental problem, which affects Palestinians' faith in
the system, lies in the ability and desire of the law enforcement
authorities to prosecute violent and abusive soldiers. The 261
investigations into the acts of soldiers that the Military Police
conducted between 2000-2005 led to the filing of only twenty-eight
indictments. Given that some of the investigations involved more than
one soldier, the prosecution rate was less than ten percent. Files were
closed for a variety of reasons, such as "lack of proof,"
"suspects not found," "the victim refused to file a complaint,"
and "the use of force was warranted."
Although B'Tselem does not have comparable data on the total rate of
investigations into acts by Border Police, B'Tselem's own documentation
indicates that the prosecution rate is low. Since the beginning of the
second intifada, B'Tselem has complained about sixty-two cases of
Border Police violence and abusive treatment. In forty-two of these
cases (68 percent), the authorities closed the file for various
reasons.
Presumably, the objective difficulties in obtaining evidence mean that
some investigations will not lead to the filing of an indictment,
regardless of the manner in which the investigation is conducted.
However, B'Tselem's experience in past years indicates that a large
percentage of the complaints are closed because of defects in the
handling of the file. In most cases, for example, the Office of the
Judge Advocate General's Office takes many months, at times more than a
year, before deciding to order a Military Police investigation. As a
result of the lengthy delay in opening the investigation, Military
Police investigators have difficulty locating suspects and
eyewitnesses. Also, witnesses who are willing to cooperate have
difficulty remembering significant details that would form the basis
for the filing of an indictment.
Finally, regardless of the time it takes to open an investigation, many
defects result from the manner in which the Military Police conduct
investigations. For example, although testimonies of the Palestinian
victims and eyewitnesses are crucial, the Military Police have almost
no Arabic-speaking investigators to take testimonies, so the
investigators have to rely on volunteer translators. B'Tselem
frequently hears of cases in which the file has been shifted from one
investigator to another and then another, requiring the new
investigator to learn the case from scratch. One reason for this is the
decision to assign the investigation to reserve-duty soldiers, who
serve for short periods of time and are unable to complete the
investigation.
The above shows that the law enforcement system does not assign the
proper degree of importance to investigating violent and abusive
treatment of Palestinians, and prosecuting those responsible. This
failure transmits a message to soldiers that such behavior is not
serious.
da
http://www.btselem.org/english/Beating_and_Abuse/20060821_Rise_in_security_forces_violence.asp

.sergio. ha scritto:
bentornato, com'è andata nel decadente impero del male? :)

 bentornato, com'è andata nel decadente impero del male? :)
*** A propo di decadentismo...
 
http://www.beth-young.com/Images/kim_il_jong.jpg
che cazzo sta facendo?
--
Cheers,
Aleks
http://www.myspace.com/theluckylounge

 com'è andata nel decadente impero del male? :)
veramente ero in Catalogna... :)

 che cazzo sta facendo?
La foto è stata scattata durante il rave party di agosto alla periferia 
di Pyongyang, il Caro Leader si era appena calato la decima pasticca 
della felicità e si stava dando alle danze.

 felicità e si stava dando alle danze.
*** Ahahahahahhaahhaha
http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/2654/kimyn0.jpg
Ma perche' son tutte verdi?


 Ma perche' son tutte verdi?
le luci colorate del rave...
piuttosto, sbaglio o ha i denti assai marci?

 le luci colorate del rave...
*** Attimo di commozione
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5842500116552110690
