IDF forces Palestinians
to choose torture



Playing Toss, Israelis Force Palestinians
to Choose Torture Method
Press International News Agency

By AWAD el-RAJUB

HEBRON—Among various torture schemes adopted by Israeli occupation forces against Palestinians is a so-called "toss" game whereby they force Palestinians to choose their own type of torture.

Speaking to IslamOnline Tuesday, December 17, Youssef, a 22-year-old Palestinian, recalled that he was on his way back home to Al-Khalil (Hebron) when he ran into four Israeli soldiers.

"They held me at gun-point, ordered me to take off my shirt and searched me to the nose," he recalled.

"They dragged me ten meters away and told me I have to choose my own torture through a toss by picking a paper out of eight pieces of paper put in a small pot," said Youssef.

"I chose one of the eight papers and it had a "hand breaking" phrase. One of them [Israeli soldiers] grabbed me while the three others broke my right hand with the rear of their rifles. They then beat me up until I was unconscious and I was taken to hospital.

"I later learned from other boys how they too were forced to choose one of the torture methods which varied from breaking a right hand, a left hand, a head, a hand and a leg, both legs, a tooth, a nose or simply a shot with a bullet," he asserted.

Omar, a 30-year-old Palestinian taxi driver, said he was driving with seven passengers when four Israeli soldiers stopped him on the way, ordered them out and searched the car.

"Although they did not find anything, they took me to a pot which had four pieces of paper with writing varying from breaking car glass, to blowing the tires, to taking the car keys to confiscating the vehicle altogether," he recalled.

"I chose the easiest of the four tough choices and they broke the car glass and then let me go," he asserted.

On other torture methods the Israeli forces use against Palestinian civilians, Mohammad said he witnessed Israeli soldiers torturing Palestinians near the new barbed wires in downtown Al-Khalil.

"I saw them removing the teeth of Palestinian youths and hitting one child with the rear of their rifles," said Mohammad, asserting that the Palestinians were taken to hospital.

Rami, a 27-year-old Palestinian who was also a victim of Israeli torture, recalls: "I was going to wok in Al-Khalil industrial zone and on the road Israeli patrol soldiers stopped me and beat me until I couldn't stand on my feet.

"After that four soldiers stripped me and threw me into cold water of industrial waste.

"They finally ordered me to run home without allowing me to put my clothes on," Rami conculded.

The Palestinian Human Rights Society condemned these Israeli barbaric aggressions, branding them as "stark violation of the simplest human rights."

Speaking to IslamOnline, Fahmi Shahein of Al-Khalil Law Society stressed they received several complains about Israeli tortures.

The society will contact Arab and foreign human rights watch-dogs to update them on the Israeli violations and racist assaults, he said.

"The Israeli aggression is part of maltreatment and disrespect of human dignity that contradicts all international conventions and laws," Shahein stressed.

He blamed the world community for such Israeli crimes, asserting that international silence directly encourages the Israeli occupation to pursue its waged war on the armless Palestinian people and perpetrate more crimes.



During this Season we are reminded that the Sun—radiant within and without us—is invincible and inextinguishable and that it shall conquer all evil and darkness. In this spirit we send our greeting to all men of goodwill.