Kim Bullimore

On October 9, Israel’s Ministerial Committee for Legal Affairs approved the Criminal Law Procedures Bill. If implemented, it will enable Israel to implement a two-track law — one for Israelis and one for Palestinians — to govern criminal investigations, interrogations and detention.

According to Adalah, the Centre of Arab Minority Rights in Israel, the new bill is designed to target Palestinians in the Gaza where military rule was cancelled due to Israel’s recent withdrawal from the region.

The new bill, says Adalah, was introduced on the request of Israel’s secret police, the General Security Services (also known as Shabak), to allow it “to carry out investigations and detentions in the same way as it was able to do during the military rule of occupation [in Gaza]”.

Adalah attorney Abeer Baker, in a letter sent to Israel’s Prime Minister Arial Sharon, wrote that the “aim of the bill is to re-legislate military orders in the form of Israeli laws applicable only to Palestinians”. The laws, argue Adalah, will allow the Shabak to “delay judicial review of detention of Palestinians and their meetings with lawyers for as long a possible” and that this “increases the possibility of detained individuals being tortured”.

The new law will mean that “non-Israelis” suspected of “security” violations can be investigated for 96 hours without being brought before a judge. Israelis suspected of security offences can only be detained for a maximum of 48 hours.

Under the bill, “non-Israelis” can have their detention extended for 20 days at a time and Israel’s attorney-general can approve the continuation of detention after 40 days. Israelis accused of security offences, however, can only have the detention extended by 15 days. Israelis can only be held 30 days; any further detention must be approved by the attorney-general.

The bill can prevent “non-Israelis” from meeting with an attorney for 50 days, if the attorney-general so requests, and there is no avenue to appeal such a decision. Under existing law, Israeli citizens can only be denied counsel for 21 days and have the right to appeal such a decision.

From Green Left Weekly, November 2, 2005.
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