Israel’s High Court of Justice has temporarily barred agents with the country’s domestic security service from using physical force when interrogating a Palestinian suspect.
The temporary injunction was issued by the court in response to a petition submitted by Abed Al-Balbisi, a resident of the Gaza Strip who is a suspected activist with the fundamentalist Islamic Jihad movement.
The court ordered the state representative to explain within seven days why using physical force against Al-Balbisi was necessary.
The Israeli government previously gave the security service special permission to use moderate physical force when interrogating suspected Islamit militants.
The interrogation methods were justified as a necessary part of Israel’s ongoing battle against terrorists.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.