Terrorism and Democracy Newsletter: Issue No. 12, December 2009

The December issue of IDI’s Terrorism and Democracy Newsletter includes six articles. First, we address a recent decision by the Israeli Security Cabinet to establish a special legal task force for handling all international legal procedures initiated against Israel and Israeli soldiers or officials suspected of violating international law during counter-terrorism operations. The second article introduces a recent decision by the Israeli High Court of Justice (HCJ) regarding the Israeli Government’s responsibility to reveal any information related to the ongoing negotiations for the release of Corporal Gilad Shalit in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli prisons on terrorism-related charges and convictions. The third article briefly summarizes a HCJ decision that approved the administrative detention of a Palestinian terrorist suspect after he had been released on bail during a criminal proceeding against him. The fourth article addresses another HCJ decision on a petition seeking to halt the use of family members as "interrogative tools" in terrorism-related interrogations of Palestinian detainees by the Israeli Security Agency. The fifth article explores a decision by the District Court of Nazareth related to a tort claim against the Palestinian Authority (PA) for responsibility for a terrorist attack. The sixth and final article is a short update on the inauguration of a monument in honor of the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The monument, located in Jerusalem, is the only memorial outside New York City to inscribe the names of all of the victims.

The monthly IDI Terrorism and Democracy Newsletter aims to shed light on some relatively unknown measures and policies adopted by Israel or related to Israel, and to foster discussion on the balance between security interests, on one hand, and democratic principles and human rights, on the other hand. It surveys recent developments in Israeli law and practices that are intended to reduce or repress terrorist threats. IDI believes that a greater knowledge of Israel's experience in this area may be of value to other societies; we also believe that engaging in international and comparative discourse about Israel's experience is valuable to Israeli society.