Results of the massive Israeli bombing of Gaza City in July 2002 in which 15 Palestinians were killed.

Six Palestinian survivors and relatives of the victims of a massive Israeli bombing of Gaza City in July 2002 have submitted a lawsuit in Spain against top Israeli military officials to determine their liability in this incident. The lawsuit, initiated and prepared by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, represents the first time that Palestinian survivors of Israeli military attacks have directly petitioned the Audiencia Nacional, the Spanish National Court that deals with special crimes.

The lawsuit requests that the Audiencia Nacional investigate whether the 22 July 2002 incident, in which the Israeli air force dropped a one tonne bomb on the Al Daraj neighbourhood of Gaza City in order to demolish the home of suspected Hamas commander Salah Shehadeh, can be considered a crime against people and goods protected during armed conflict. During this incident, 15 Palestinians were killed, mostly infants and children, while150 others were injured.

If the court finds this to be the case, the Israeli military officials could be prosecuted in Spain due to the peninsula’s universal jurisdiction for crimes against humanity.

The military officials named in the petition: former Israeli Minister of Defence Benjamin Ben Eliezer; Military Secretary Michael Herzog;; former Chief of Staff Moshe Yaalon; former Commander of the Israeli Air Force Dan Halutz; General Doron Almog; former President of the National Security Council Gioria Eiland; and former General Director of the General Security Services (GSS) Abraham Dichter.

The United Nations, the European Union, the United States and Britain criticized Israel at the time for this “heavy handed” action that “does not contribute to peace,” as the US White House spokesperson noted in its statement. An estimated 100,000 Palestinians attended the funerals of the 15 victims.

Despite the Israeli High Court decision on 6 September 1999, outlawing the use of arbitrary torture as an interrogation method, methods of torture are still applied by Israeli interrogators of Palestinian detainees (photo by TRC).

The United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture (26 June) is an occasion when human rights organizations, torture survivors and concerned individuals raise public awareness of the continued prevalence of torture around the world and discuss methods of eradicating this evil. This year, the Treatment and Rehabilitation Center for Victims of Torture (TRC) and United against Torture (UAT) organized a conference in Ramallah titled “Monitoring Human Rights Compliance in Places of Detention.” This series of lectures by national and international organizations and experts examined torture in Palestine and Israel, and discussed the best practices for prevention. Dr. Mahmud Sehwail, General Director and Consultant Psychiatrist at the TRC stressed the importance of this day when he said it is an opportunity to support victims of torture, remember those who are suffering, and show international concern to eradicate this crime. 

According to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), of which Israel is a signatory, torture is defined as “any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity” (Article 1). The International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT) summarizes this definition as “the intentional infliction of severe mental or physical pain or suffering by or with the consent of the state authorities for a specific purpose.”

Unfortunately, torture is used as a routine method of interrogation and punishment in more than half of the world’s countries, including Israel, despite being prohibited by international human rights and humanitarian law. The TRC defines torture as “the purposeful and systematic annihilation of a human being’s physical and psychological well-being.” This sentiment is echoed by Palestinians who have survived torture at the hands of Israeli security forces. 

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana in Berlin on Tuesday, 24 June.

The international community pledged US$242 million yesterday (24 June) to strengthen the Palestinian Authority’s police and legal systems. The pledges, made at the German-initiated Berlin Conference in Support of Palestinian Civil Security and the Rule of Law, will be channeled to the Palestinian Authority (PA) over the next three years to finance development of the Palestinian security and judicial systems in the West Bank.  These funds, part of the US$ 7.4 billion pledged by the international community for the PA at the 17 December 2007 International Donors’ Conference for the Palestinian State in Paris, will also finance an expansion of the European Union Police Mission in the Palestinian Territories.

The one-day Berlin conference, touted as “a clear signal of support” by German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and others for the building of a Palestinian state, was premised on the idea that strengthening the civilian security infrastructure of the PA is essential to the creation of a Palestinian state. As the German Foreign Ministry noted in a press release, “The Federal Government knew from the outset that it was key to bolster the Palestinian people's will for peace by strengthening the Palestinian economy. And there can be no economic development without functioning state structures as well as legal certainty for investors.” 

While Israel allowed dozens of trucks to deliver basic goods to the Gaza Strip on 22 June, following implementatoin of the Hamas/Israel ceasefire agreement the situation for the Gaza population is still precarious.

During the first stage of implementation, Israel is required to ease its blockade of the Gaza Strip and allow resumption of some supply shipments. A week later, Israel is to loosen restrictions at cargo crossings. During the final stage of implementation, the sides are expected to discuss the opening of a major border passage between Gaza and Egypt, in addition to the release of an Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, whom Hamas has held prisoner for two years.

In Israel, public controversy exists around the fact that Shalit’s release will be discussed only during the final stage of the ceasefire implementation, which further includes the opening of the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt. For its side, Hamas has conditioned the release of Shalit on the freeing of 450 Palestinian prisoners, of whom Israel has so far stated that it is prepared to release only 70.

However, Hamas is in a no-lose situation when it demands the release of its more active cadre, i.e. activists the movement never expected Israel would release anyway. It would be a major victory for the movement if Israel releases even a portion of these prisoners. Otherwise, Hamas may arrive at an independent agreement with Egypt regarding the Rafah crossing, an agreement that would not involve Israel, and Gilad Shalit would remain in Palestinian hands indefinitely.