Israel and the Occupied Territories: Oral statement to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights on the Israeli Occupied Territories

Amnesty International's (AI) concerns in the Occupied Territories include large scale use of detention without charge or trial, systematic ill- treatment of detainees and the killing of civilians by the security forces. Existing guidelines on the use of force, particularly those governing the use of firearms and methods of interrogation, lead AI to conclude that the Israeli authorities are effectively condoning, if not encouraging, the type of violations described here. AI is aware that methods of protest used in the Palestinian intifada have included (sometimes lethal) violence; nevertheless, the organization calls on the Israeli Government fully to abide by international human rights standards in administering the Occupied Territories.