The Human Rights Case against Israel: The Policy of Torture

Israel, its leaders and supporters all over the world argue, is a Western- style democracy, which is based on the respect for the rights of the individual and the supremacy of the law under all circumstances, and which abides completely by international law, living in harmony with the majority of states in the world. For this reason, it is most unlikely that Israel will ever confirm its use of torture against the Arab people who live under its occupation. Israel, however, has occupied Arab lands by force since June 1967, and is faced daily with a population intensely and actively opposed to that occupation. It is logical and not unheard of, even in Western democracies, for the systematic use of torture to occur in such conditions.

Ghassan Bishara is Washington correspondent for al-Fajr (Jerusalem).