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66-643: The hijacking of Bus 300 in 1984 led to public disquiet about the GSS . In 1986 the head of the GSS, Avraham Shalom resigned after being accused of attempting to frame a senior IDF general for the murder of two Palestinian prisoners killed after the hijacking. With his resignation he was given a Presidential pardon. On 6 August 1986 the Supreme Court rejected an appeal against the pardon, but Attorney General Yosef Harish promised there would be an investigation. Over

132-473: A Jewish publication for over fifteen years, was due to their reporting that Minister of Defence Arens had set up a committee of inquiry, headed by Reserve General Meir Zorea . This information had been released to the Editors Committee of Israel's major newspapers on condition that the information was not published. Hadeshot , owned by the publishers of the respected Ha'aretz newspaper, was not

198-547: A chair or arms above head for long periods. d) beating hands and fingers. e) leaving prisoners soaked in cold water. f) beating. g) slapping face. In 1974 Israeli attorney Felicia Langer , and later another attorney Leah Tsemel , lodged cases with the Supreme Court against the use of torture by the GSS. In 1977 the London Sunday Times Insight team reported that torture was being used as a "systematic deliberate policy" in six detention centers, including

264-574: A change of clothes and toilet paper. At least some cells reek and have mould. The food is of poor quality and quantity, and detainees lose weight. During interrogation, detainees are exposed to threats, including threats against family members, and sometimes to violence. Other severe means include exposing the detainees to extreme heat and cold and depriving them of sleep." Kav 300 affair The Bus 300 affair ( Hebrew : פרשת קו 300 , romanized :  Parashat Kav 300 , lit.   'Line 300 affair'), also known as Kav 300 affair ,

330-517: A gas station and from there alerted the authorities to the hijacking. As a result, Israeli military forces began chasing the bus. The bus, moving at 120 km/h, smashed through two primitive road blocks until Israeli soldiers fired at the bus tires and successfully managed to disable the bus near the Palestinian camp of Deir el-Balah located in the Gaza Strip , only 10 miles north of

396-510: A member of the Editors Committee. Zorea's report was delivered in secret to the parliamentary Foreign Affairs and Security Committee on 29 May. Its findings were not made public but were said to have "stunned the security establishment." At the same time Hadashot refuted Moshe Arens' statement that he had not been at the scene of the hijacking by claiming that their photographer had been standing beside him shortly before he took

462-444: A person's free will, and thus causing the rejection of the confession." They found that the GSS "simply lied, thus committing the criminal offence of perjury" and that "false testimony in court soon became the unchallenged norm which was to be the rule for 16 years." In 1982 a written "guideline as to the nature of the lie to be told" with regard to "method of physical pressure" was issued by the highest GSS authorities. The Commission

528-553: A photograph, taken by Alex Levac , of one of the hijackers being led away in handcuffs. Their journalists had positively identified the man in the picture as Majdi Abu Jummaa, aged 18, one of the four dead. The story was re-published around the world. The story was broken in Israel on Sunday 22 April by Al HaMishmar of the Mapam party. In a lead story passed by the censor they quoted "authorized senior sources" as saying that there

594-587: A police investigation into Shin Bet actions and in particular the role of its director. In May 1986 Zamir was forced to resign amidst accusations of disregarding national security after refusing to end his investigations. His resignation was reported in the international media and Israeli newspapers were able to bypass the Military Censor with revelations about the Shin Bet. It became public that Avraham Shalom

660-556: A report by Law in the Service of Man called "Torture and Intimidation in the West Bank - The case of al-Fara'a Prison." They had found that detainees were handcuffed and hooded for long periods, routinely beaten, kept in tiny cells "awash with filthy water", forced to masturbate, deprived of sleep and food, given cold showers and being forced to stand naked outside in rain at night. The first study of interrogation techniques following

726-503: A result, initial reports published in Israel and worldwide claimed that all hijackers were killed during the takeover. Nevertheless, three days later the Israeli daily newspaper Hadashot quoted a report from The New York Times , thus bypassing the Israeli military censor, which stated that two of the hijackers were captured alive. A few days later Hadashot published on its front page a photograph taken by Alex Levac , in which one of

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792-629: A special camp at Sarafand. It describes "more refined techniques" being used: electric shocks and special "small" cells in which a prisoner cannot sit or stand. On 1 February 1978 the ICRC announced that the IDF had agreed that ICRC delegated would be permitted to visit detainees, without witnesses, after 14 days of incarceration, "even if they are still being interrogated." Also in 1978 the American National Lawyers Guild claimed

858-490: A toilet where he could neither sit nor stand; hung by his handcuffs; beaten on his feet, his hands, his genitals; one arm chained to the wall the other to a door which was then pulled repeatedly; threatened with a large dog, electric shocks and execution. The prisoner was released after 17 days. He is quoted as saying that he had the same treatment in prison in Jordan. In April 1970 Amnesty International published its "Report on

924-472: Is a medical report on a prisoner who had been so severely beaten around the groin that he no longer had testicles. Annex IV is a translation of a Swedish journalists interview with Felicia Langer . She describes the experience of women prisoner in Jerusalem . Also a detailed account of a 37-year-old man held at Sarafand. He was allegedly blindfolded; beaten with rifle butts; confined in chains for two days in

990-542: Is a permanent Knesset committee which oversees key Foreign and Defense issues of the State of Israel , including the drafting of legislation, supervision over related government ministries and the approval of their budgets. It is regarded as one of two most important Knesset committees (the other being the Finance Committee ). The majority of the committee's activity takes place in its subcommittees, while

1056-413: Is impossible without the use of means of pressure, in order to overcome an obdurate will not to disclose information and to overcome the fear of the person under interrogation that harm will befall him from his own organization, if he does reveal information." And: "The means of pressure should principally take the form of non-violent psychological pressure through a vigorous and extensive interrogation, with

1122-523: Is obligated to bring to the approval of the committee various emergency activities, including ones related to or that are likely to result in war. The committee also undertakes personal hearings for key defense and State decision makers as well as hearings for appreciable defense projects. During 2020, the Committee took an active role in shaping the legal framework authorizing Shabak to engage in location tracking of coronavirus carriers. Eventually,

1188-546: Is one of the most sought after positions in the Knesset. The committee's plenary sessions are secret and the meetings of some of its subcommittees are top secret . Consequently, its protocols remain largely unpublished. After repeated instances in which the contents of meetings were leaked , its members became obliged to sign a secrecy affidavit . The media has limited access to committee meetings (at selected occasions) and no access to that of its subcommittees. The government

1254-680: Is presented with summaries by the top decision makers in areas of foreign affairs, defense, and intelligence, including by the Prime Minister , the Foreign Affairs Minister , the Minister of Defense , and the heads of Mossad , Shabak, and Aman . The committee's chair, who reports on much of the country's defense activities, is considered one of the most senior figures in the Security Forces and subsequently, it

1320-499: The Israeli League for Human and Civil Rights , founded by Israel Shahak , issued a report on conditions in the Gaza Strip . They found that prisoners were stripped naked for long periods including during interrogation, and that prisoners had no contact with the outside for a least a month sometimes two or three. It list methods used as: a) Falaka (beating of the soles of feet). b) suspension by hands for long periods. c) holding

1386-411: The "banana" position); prolonged periods of painful confinement in small specially constructed cells (the "closet" or "refrigerator") and severe and prolonged beatings on all parts of the body, resulting in injuries requiring medical treatment." A 1995 official report by Miriam Ben-Porat , made public in 2000, showed that Shin Bet "routinely" went beyond the "moderate physical pressure" authorised by

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1452-503: The Commission found that the keeping of prisoners "without judicial supervision for a period of 18 days not acceptable." Hence "We support the proposal to shorten this period and recommend that the question of prolonging the detention be brought before a judge no later than the eighth day after the day of his arrest." The Commission found that the use of violence against Palestinians suspected of terrorism and other Palestinian prisoners

1518-530: The Egyptian border. When the bus stopped, some of the passengers managed to escape from the bus through an open door. In the ensuing stand-off members of the Israeli media began to gather at the scene. Also present were senior military officers and politicians. These included Chief of Staff Moshe Levi , Minister of Defence Moshe Arens , and the director of the Israeli domestic intelligence service Shin Bet , Avraham Shalom . Brigadier General Yitzhak Mordechai

1584-609: The Knesset's Defence and Foreign Affairs Committee ." In 1968 the International Committee for the Red Cross issued a report on Nablus Prison, one of the IDF's detention centers in the recently captured West Bank . It found: In February 1970 the United Nations Economic and Social Council issued a report which had two annexes containing evidence of the mistreatment of prisoners. Annex III

1650-957: The Landau Commission was published in March 1991 by the Israeli Human Rights organisation B'tselem : " The Interrogation of Palestinians during the Intifada: Ill-Treatment, Moderate Physical Pressure or Torture ?" Based on interviews with 41 prisoners the report concluded: "A number of interrogation methods appear to be common, even routine in the group we interviewed. Virtually all our sample were subject to: verbal abuse, humiliation and threats of injury; sleep and food deprivation; hooding for prolonged periods; enforced standing for long periods, sometimes in an enclosed space, hands bound behind back and legs tied ("al-Shabah"); being bound in other painful ways (such as

1716-644: The Landau Commission. In the report, Israel admitted for the first time that Palestinian detainees suspected of terrorism were tortured during the First Intifada , between 1988 and 1992. A 2009 report by B'Tselem into the Shin Bet interrogation facility at Petah Tikva, based on testimony from 121 Palestinians, stated that: "In the interrogation room, detainees are forced to sit bound to a rigid chair unable to move, for hours and even days, causing intense pain in some cases. The hygienic conditions are appalling: detainees are sometimes denied showers and not given

1782-471: The Prime Minister at the time of the killings – Yitzhak Shamir . On 6 August 1986 the Supreme Court upheld the pardons, but Attorney General Harish promised there would be an investigation. The affair had significantly damaged the Shin Bet's reputation and public image in Israel. It also led to a re-examination of censorship in Israel after it became evident that the censors had contributed to

1848-660: The Shabak". In 2011 Gidi Weitz directed Alef Techasel Otam , a documentary movie about the affair which aired to strong review and much public interest on Channel 10 . The incident was also referenced in the documentary, The Gatekeepers . Rotem Shamir directed the Rescue Bus 300 docu-action film starring Daniel Gal as Irit Portuguez, produced by Keshet Broadcasting and aired on Keshet 12 on 5 May 2018. Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee The Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee ( Hebrew : ועדת חוץ וביטחון )

1914-407: The Shin Bet chief of operations Ehud Yatom , approached the bound men. Before he left the site, Shalom ordered Yatom to execute them. "As a result, Yatom and several members of the Shin Bet took the men into a vehicle, and drove them to an isolated place, where the two were beaten to death with rocks and iron bars." The Israeli military censor blacked out coverage of the hijacking originally. As

1980-414: The Supreme Court. In 1980 Azat Naffso, an IDF Lieutenant and member of Israel's 2,000-strong Circassian community from Kfar Kanna , had been convicted by a secret court martial of transmitting information and explosives to "hostile parties" and sentenced to 18 years in prison. Naffso, lodged an appeal against his sentence on the grounds of fabricated evidence and false testimony. At the end of May 1987 he

2046-598: The Treatment of Certain Prisoners under Interrogation in Israel". It concluded that there was "prima facia evidence of the serious maltreatment of Arab prisoners in Israel." A member of the Executive Committee said "We have rarely - if ever - had such reliable material on which to base the establishment of the fact in relation to torture taking place - or not taking place - in a particular country." In 1972

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2112-509: The affair in foreign press, and eventually in the Israeli media, led a public uproar, which led many in the Israeli public to demand that the circumstances surrounding the deaths of the hijackers would be investigated. In 1985, a senior Israeli army general Yitzhak Mordechai was acquitted of charges related to the deaths of the captured hijackers. Later, it emerged that members of the Shin Bet , Israel's internal security service, had implicated

2178-436: The alternative is: are we to accept the offence of assault entailed in slapping a suspect's face, or threatening him, in order to induce him to talk and reveal a cache of explosive materials meant for use in carrying an act of mass terror against a civilian population, and thereby prevent the greater evil which is about to occur? The answer is self evident." Elsewhere they state: "The effective interrogation of terrorist suspects

2244-424: The attack. He said the hijackers demanded the release of 30 prisoners held at Nafha Prison (see here ) in southern Israel. Israeli sources dismissed these claims accusing Fatah of being responsible. Moshe Arens, who sanctioned the operation, argued after the event that, despite casualties among the passengers, the operation was "absolutely necessary." He said: "It was a long and difficult night and we followed

2310-401: The basis of their confession in court." The Commission found that interrogators were permitted "from time to time to employ means of pressure, including physical pressure." They found this measure "unavoidable" and "an interrogation tool of utmost importance." but that a "dilemma" arose about revealing the methods of interrogation since it would "appear to the court as violating the principle of

2376-480: The committee as a whole largely serves as a media stage for top defense decision makers. The committee approves extensive subcommittee-drafted delegated legislation in areas of defense, emergency preparedness , emergency recruitment of human resources, Shabak special operations, allocation of emergency equipment, the deployment of the Home Front, and other security and intelligence related tasks. The committee

2442-513: The cover-up of the affair. As part of the overall investigation of Shin Bet during the affair it was discovered that the organization routinely used physical force during interrogations which led to the establishment of the Landau Commission to investigate the organization's interrogation and other procedures. According to Israeli journalist Gideon Levy , the people who exposed the scandal were never honoured, and those who covered up

2508-534: The criminal law bring about a loosening of the reins, with each interrogator taking matters into his own hands through the unbridled, arbitrary use of coercion against a suspect. In this way the image of the State as a law-abiding polity which preserves the rights of the citizen, is liable to be irreparably perverted, with it coming to resemble those regimes which grant their security organs unbridled power." It recommended: "First, disproportionate exertion of pressure on

2574-418: The following: beating of feet and sexual organs; burns by cigarettes; cutting body with razor blades; standing naked for long periods in hot or cold; drenching in hot or cold water; use of dogs; withholding food and blindfolding for long periods; insertion of bottles or sticks into anus; insertion of wire into penis; suspension from pulley; electric shocks. In 1984 International Commission of Jurists published

2640-531: The general, while concealing who gave the direct order that the prisoners be killed. In 1986, the Attorney General of Israel , Yitzhak Zamir , was forced to resign after he refused to call off an investigation into the Shin Bet's role in the affair. Shortly afterwards Avraham Shalom , head of the Shin Bet resigned and was given a full Presidential pardon for unspecified crimes, while pardons were granted to many involved before charges were laid. Following

2706-533: The hijackers was being held alive and fully conscious while taken off the bus. The publication of the photograph caused a public uproar and as a result many in the Israeli public demanded that the circumstances surrounding the deaths of hijackers would be investigated. In Damascus, Bassam Abu Sharif of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine , claimed that his organisation was responsible for

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2772-418: The hijackers were behaving like amateurs, one later stating that 'it's a bit ridiculous to call this a hostage-bargaining terrorist attack,' and that the four did not pose a risk. After lengthy negotiations, at around 7:00 am of 13 April a team of Sayeret Matkal commandos led by Doron Kempel stormed the bus while shooting at the hijackers through the vehicle's windows. During this takeover operation,

2838-402: The implementation in practice of the directives given to GSS interrogators. Fifth, the interrogator's superiors must react firmly and without hesitation to every deviation from the permissible, imposing disciplinary punishment, and in serious cases by causing criminal proceedings to be instituted against the offending interrogator." The guidelines for means of pressure permitted were contained in

2904-402: The incident went on to prestigious careers. In 1996 retiring Shin Bet officer Ehud Yatom gave an interview to the daily Yediot Aharonot in which he is quoted as saying: "I smashed their skulls," on orders from Shin Bet head Avraham Shalom, and "I'm proud of everything I've done." Yatom said he put the men on stretchers into a van. "On the way I received an order from Avraham Shalom to kill

2970-548: The men, so I killed them." "Only clean, moral hands in Shin Bet can do what is needed in a democratic state." From 2003 to 2006 Yatom was a Member of the Knesset. Uri Barbash directed the Kav 300 mini-series which was shown in 1997 on Israeli television. The series focused on the juridicial "struggle between the Israeli Attorney General and the Shabak head following the murder of two terrorists in captivity by

3036-404: The murders and coordinating the testimonies of witnesses in the case against General Mordechai. Peres refused to act on this information and the three officials were dismissed from the Shin Bet. They then gave evidence that led Attorney General Yitzhak Zamir to launch a criminal probe against the senior Shin Bet officials accused of covering up the killings. On hearing the evidence, Zamir opened

3102-449: The picture of Majdi Abu Jammaa. Concerns were also being raised about a television interview that Arens had given shortly after the event when he said: "Whoever plans terrorist acts in Israel must know that he will not get out alive." The IDF Chief of Staff, Raphael Eitan , had made a similar statement: "Terrorists must know that they will not come out alive from such an operation." In 1985 Brigadier General Yitzhak Mordechai , who had led

3168-400: The policy that has been traditionally laid down by Israel that we do not give in to terrorist demands." At 8:00 am the morning after the hijacking, IDF forces began blowing up the houses of the families of the four hijackers. Just over a week after the hijacking David Shipler , The New York Times correspondent in Israel, filed a report revealing that the daily newspaper Hadashot had

3234-434: The scandal, the Landau Commission was set up to investigate Shin Bet procedures. On Thursday 12 April 1984 four armed Arab guerillas from the Gaza Strip reached Ashdod where they boarded, as paying passengers, an Egged bus operating on intercity bus route No.300 which was en route from Tel Aviv to Ashkelon with 41 passengers. The Palestinians hijacked it shortly after it left the station at 7:30 pm. During

3300-673: The second part of the report, which "for understandable reasons" were kept secret. The Commission stated that the code was less severe than techniques used by the British army in Northern Ireland and followed the standards set down by the European Court of Human Rights in 1978. They recommended that the code should be reviewed annually by a small Ministerial Committee "reporting to the Services Subcommittee of

3366-550: The soldiers were able to kill two of the hijackers, capture the two additional hijackers, and release all hostages except for one passenger – a 19-year-old female soldier named Irit Portuguez who was killed by the IDF forces fire during the takeover operation. Seven passengers were wounded during the course of the operation. Two hijackers were captured alive, bound and taken to a nearby field, where they were beaten by people who had gathered around them. Shin Bet chief Avraham Shalom , and

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3432-600: The storming of the bus, and eleven others were put on trial for the killing of the two prisoners. They were accused of being among a larger group who beat and kicked the prisoners to death. Witnesses described the General hitting the prisoners with a pistol. He was cleared of the charges, and the charges against the others dropped. In the spring of 1986 the deputy chief of Shin Bet , Reuven Hazak and two officials Rafi Malka and Peleg Raday, met Prime Minister Shimon Peres and accused their superior, Avraham Shalom , of having ordered

3498-480: The summer of 1986 the Israeli public were also facing the unfolding Pollard spy scandal in the United States as well as the publication of a very critical report into the banking system . It is possible that concerns about the GSS would have been forgotten. But a fresh scandal arouse the following year, April 1987. A change in the law had created an opening for verdicts of Military Courts to be challenged in

3564-575: The suspect is inadmissible; the pressure must never reach the level of physical torture or maltreatment of the suspect or grievous harm to his honour which deprives him of his human dignity. Second, the possible use of less serious measures must be weighed against the degree of anticipated danger, according to the information in the possession of the interrogator. Third, the physical and psychological means of pressure permitted for use by an interrogator must be defined and limited in advance, by issuing binding directives. Fourth, there must be strict supervision of

3630-418: The takeover, one of the bus passengers was severely injured. The hijackers stated that they were armed with knives and a suitcase containing two anti-tank rounds which they threatened to explode. The hijackers forced the bus to change its direction and drive towards the Egyptian border. Shortly after the bus was hijacked, the hijackers released a pregnant woman from the bus south of Ashdod. She hitchhiked to

3696-417: The use of stratagems, including acts of deception. However, when these do not attain their purpose, the exertion of a moderate measure of physical pressure cannot be avoided." But they identified a danger: "a security service . . . is always in danger of sliding towards methods practised in regimes which we abhor." And "It is true that strict care must be taken, lest a breach of the structure of prohibitions of

3762-517: The week before, published on its front page a blurred picture of a man being led away. The editor of the magazine, Uri Avnery , had overcome the censors' opposition after threatening to take the case to the High Court. Yossi Klein , editor of Hadashot , confirmed to correspondents that the man in the picture was not Majdi Abu Jammaa. On 27 April Hadeshot was ordered to stop publishing for four days. This punishment, which had not been applied to

3828-407: Was a 1984 incident in which Shin Bet members executed two Palestinian bus hijackers, immediately after the hostage crisis incident ended and they had been captured. After the incident the Shin Bet members gave false testimony on their involvement in the affair. The Israeli military censor blacked out coverage of the hijacking originally, but nevertheless, the publication of information regarding

3894-564: Was accused of ordering the killing of the two prisoners and organising an extensive cover-up which included implicating General Mordechai. In June 1986 a little-known judge, Yosef Harish , took over as Attorney General and President Chaim Herzog issued a blanket pardon to Shalom and four other Shin Bet officers. These pardons were challenged in the Supreme court . During the appeal papers were revealed in which Shalom asserted that all his actions were "authorised and approved." This implicated

3960-410: Was an acceptable method of interrogation. They argued, in the light of what they called "the concept of the lesser evil", that "actual torture it is unacceptable but . . . moderate physical pressure would be perhaps be justified in order to uncover a bomb about to explode in a building full of people . . . whether the charge is certain to be detonated in five minutes or in five days." "To put it bluntly,

4026-536: Was no alternative to the establishment of a commission of inquiry into the deaths of the two hijackers. On 24 April David Shipler was summoned to the office of the director of the Government press office, Mordechai Dolinsky , and was "severely reprimanded." It was believed that his Israeli press credentials were not revoked only because he was leaving his post shortly anyway. On 25 April the weekly HaOlam HaZeh (This World) , which had appeared with blank spaces

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4092-427: Was put in charge of the rescue operation. The hijackers, who were holding the bus passengers hostage, demanded the release of 500 Arab prisoners imprisoned in Israel and free passage to Egypt for themselves. The hijackers stated that they would not hesitate to blow up their explosive-laden suitcase and kill all the passengers on the bus. As negotiations proceeded Shin Bet operatives on the scene quickly concluded that

4158-532: Was released after being cleared of most of the charges. Attorney General Harish had offered no opposition to the appeal. The court was very critical about GSS behavior, in particular by GSS claims that Naffso's confessions, on which the case was based, were given freely and without undue pressure. The court ordered that Naffso should be financially compensated and his IDF rank restored. Once again GSS activities were being discussed in public. Israeli state television quoted "Senior Shabak (GSS) figures" as saying that Naffso

4224-459: Was satisfied that the practice of committing perjury had "completely discontinued" after the head of GSS issued a directive on 10 June 1987. It also found that the judges, prosecutors, police and medical personnel were unaware of systematic perjury by GSS interrogators. "Even though no judges were called to appear before us and we heard no explicit denial, we find this allegation to be baseless, and wholly unacceptable." With regard to Habeas Corpus

4290-736: Was subject to procedures identical to those "in hundreds of other cases." Under immense pressure from the judiciary the Government set up a secret three man Commission of inquiry headed by the President of the Supreme Court Moshe Landau . The "Commission of Inquiry into the Methods of Investigation of the General Security Service Regarding Hostile Terrorist Activity" was established on 31 May 1987. Its remit

4356-459: Was to look into "the investigation methods and procedures of the GSS on Hostile Terrorist Activity, and the giving of testimony in Court regarding these investigations." The final report was published on 30 October 1987 and endorsed by the cabinet 8 November 1987. In the previous two decades some 50% of GSS interrogations led to trials, and "the overwhelming majority of those tried were convicted on

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