Israeli military courts automatically convict Palestinians: report

at 11:37 on January 6, 2008, EST.
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

JERUSALEM - An Israeli human rights group charges that Israel's military court system for Palestinian suspects in the West Bank produces almost automatic convictions.

A report published Sunday by Yesh Din, a Tel-Aviv based human rights organization, funded in part by the British and Dutch governments, said that in 2006, more than 99.7 per cent of those accused were convicted, of which 95 per cent made a plea bargain. The report adds that court proceedings can be startling brief, citing a timed study of 38 hearings where prosecutors sought to extend suspects' detention in custody until the end of case, which generally means remand for a year or more.

Of those 38 hearings, Yesh Din Says, seven lasted between two and four minutes, 19 lasted between one and two minutes and 12 were over in under a minute.

Yesh Din, which said that its year-long study was the most extensive of its kind to date, found major failings in the courts' practices: Hearings were held in Hebrew and the Arabic-speaking suspects often did not understand the charges brought against them, they were unable to present a full defence or have an effective counsel.

"Most are detained in Israel and their attorneys are not able to meet them," said Michael Sfard, Yesh Din's legal counsel. In addition, minors were often tried as adults and detained at length before being charged.

Sfard said the 0.29 per cent acquittal rating in 2006 (23 out of 9,123) was most jarring.

"We think that this is an outrageous number which clouds the presumption of innocence," he said. "It is unreasonable that a justice system will have such a low figure of victory of the defence."

The army said it had not been provided the full Yesh Din report and could only respond to an initial draft. Still, a military statement said, the report was filled with flaws, faulty research methods and mistaken analysis.

The army said its court system operated with full disclosure and stressed that defendants were given fair trials, hearings had simultaneous translations and defendants were provided with all the material against them in advance.

The military courts were established after Israel conquered the West Bank and Gaza in the 1967 Middle East war to administer Palestinians charged with security-related and criminal offences.

More than 150,000 Palestinians have been prosecuted in these courts since 1990, and about half the 9,000 prisoners currently being held in Israel were sent to prison by the military courts, according to Yesh Din.

Yesh Din's board includes Michael Ben Yair, a former Israeli attorney general, retired Gen. Shlomo Lahat, a former Tel Aviv mayor, and Shulamit Aloni, a former Cabinet minister.

Two weeks ago, the group faulted the military for not opening enough investigations into allegations of mistreatment of Palestinians.

The Israeli military launched 207 investigations into troops' suspected crimes against Palestinians in 2007, up 36 per cent from the year before, the military said.


©The Canadian Press, 2008

Edmonton, AB - - "all seeing, all knowing-thats our luv -prb"-"Yeah...we're like the Hotel California of fansites" - Nikademus - Nothinbutjoy¤°: I am so beyond mother fucking glad that it's the God Damned weekend that i could just shit kitttens

I have to wonder if any mainstream US news sources will pick up this story. This is nothing new and, in fact, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and B'tSelem have all been reporting such human rights violations for years. While we went "spreading democracy" in Iraq, our government has been aiding and abetting a nation that so frequently engages in human rights abuses that their former Prime Minister was actually in more UN violations than Saddam Hussein.

I work for an international NGO and spend half of my year in North Africa. I almost went to work for a group based out of Nablus but, in the end, determined that US interest in change was so minimal that I'd be put to better use in Africa. When I read more reports like the one above, I feel a little guilty.

Sad to say, but this is nothing new. Back in 2004 when I spent a year over in Palestine, Israeli police force, defense force, the whole government of Israel, would randomly pick Palestinian citizens off the street and charge them with weak crimes. One 14 year old Palestinian kid was just coming from a local market and was placed under arrest for just stepping on the Israeli side of the road!! Can you say..America in the South 1920s and up until the 1970s?
[Edited 1/6/08 14:29pm]

All's fair in love and war scares me. Decades of war in Ireland and Israel and India were degraded by our culture as unnecessary. One bomb on our soil and the killer bee instinct rises and creates the our way or no way response,war.

Explain please, what an "international NGO" is, dear Dove Among Vultures.
In studying ancient cultures, the vulture was revered for its' spiritual and familial ties and strengths. A lot different than my attitude toward them as a child of the western desert, a vulture was a sign of death and carnage. Sometimes roadkill, sometimes a wolf had attacked a calf or lamb.I would hide in the rocks just to observe a bird that was so awkward yet fantastic.

JellyBean said:

Edmonton, AB - - "all seeing, all knowing-thats our luv -prb"-"Yeah...we're like the Hotel California of fansites" - Nikademus - Nothinbutjoy¤°: I am so beyond mother fucking glad that it's the God Damned weekend that i could just shit kitttens

luv4u said:

MayaMinnesota said:

JellyBean said:

guitarslinger44 said:

Edmonton, AB - - "all seeing, all knowing-thats our luv -prb"-"Yeah...we're like the Hotel California of fansites" - Nikademus - Nothinbutjoy¤°: I am so beyond mother fucking glad that it's the God Damned weekend that i could just shit kitttens

luv4u said:

guitarslinger44 said:

The point is, Israel was created after WWII as a result of the holocaust. Israel was created from Palestinian land and that is why the Israelis and Palestinians have such a bitter feud.

Exactly