This month's issue of the IDI Terrorism and Democracy Newsletter briefly discusses three recent developments related to Israel's fight against terrorism: First, we address two decisions issued by the Supreme Court relating to the status of “Operation Cast Lead" detainees. In these two cases, the Court authorized the designation of Palestinian detainees as "Unlawful Combatants" under Israeli law and confirmed their continued detention (while strengthening, to some degree, existing review mechanisms). The second development that we treat is a district court decision to reject a tort claim submitted by a Palestinian who was injured in the course of a targeted killing operation directed against a Palestinian terrorist suspect. The court held that targeted killing operations are normally covered by "Combat Immunity" under Israel Tort Law. Finally, we discuss a new bill that seeks to facilitate access of lawyers and experts to classified evidence in legal proceedings involving security issues. Although the draft bill appears to expand the right to effective representation in proceedings related to terrorism, it may also result in a greater inclination to classify evidence.
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.
Terrorism and Democracy Newsletter: Issue No. 4, April 2009