UN human rights experts urged Israel to stop using torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment against Palestinians, pointing out that international law has banned this treatment universally.

The experts said in a statement last Monday that Israel should urgently and comprehensively review, suspend and/or repeal the necessity defense applied in criminal investigations, and any laws, regulations, policies, and practices authorizing, justifying, acquiescing in or otherwise leading to impunity for such grave violations of human rights.

They said that they were alarmed at the use of "enhanced interrogation techniques" used by Israeli forces against Palestinian Samer al-Arbeed, who was arrested in 2019 over suspicions of being involved in an attack in the occupied West Bank. After being subjected to interrogation by Israel's Shin Bet domestic intelligence service, Al-Arbeed was transferred to Jerusalem's Hadassah hospital in critical condition.

"We are alarmed at Israel's failure to prosecute, punish and redress the torture and ill-treatment perpetrated against Mr al-Arbeed," they underlined.

They stated that "Addressing such abuse is not at the discretion of the government or the judiciary, but constitutes an absolute obligation under international law."

 

Source : Safa