The Last Exile

One of the issues I have with pro-Palestinian fraction is their refusal to acknowledge the real transgressions of the Palestinian Authority while throwing sand constantly within the eyes of Israel. Without confronting and criticizing the Palestinian Authority it makes if far more likely if a Palestinian state is established it will be another ruthless and repressive totalitarian state in a region fraught with ruthless totalitarians. All of which makes one wonder; does the Arab world really need another one? The British government has decided to tackle the widespread affectionate relationship with torture the Palestinian Authority possesses.

The Government is sending British police and intelligence officers to the West Bank to try to stop a wave of brutal torture by Palestinian security forces funded by UK taxpayers. Their mission is to set up and train a new ‘internal affairs’ department with sweeping powers to investigate abuse and bring torturers to justice. The department is being paid for by Britain, with an initial planning budget of £100,000 – a sum set to soar as it becomes established.

Yesterday a senior official from the semi-autonomous Palestinian Authority (PA), which runs the West Bank and its security agencies, admitted for the first time that torture, beatings and extra-judicial killings have been rife for the past two years, with hundreds of torture allegations and at least four murders in custody, the most recent in August.

Haitham Arar, head of the Palestinian Authority interior ministry’s human rights department, said: ‘This is a shame on the Palestinian Authority. We are determined with the help of our British colleagues to instill respect for human rights as part of the security forces’ daily behaviour and to teach them how to treat prisoners properly.’ She said planning for the new department was well advanced and it should be operational in four months’ time. Besides investigation, British detectives will train the Palestinian police and ‘Preventive Security’ forces in how to question suspects without torturing them. The next step would be for officers from MI5 and MI6 to train the PA’s Mukhabarat intelligence agency. ‘Obviously police cannot train intelligence officers,’ Ms Arar said. ‘For that you need other intelligence officers. We need all the help we can get.’

Of course, I do wish I was a little fly on the wall during British taught ‘training sessions’ as I expect the sensitivity training will be a real hoot when Palestinians see nothing wrong with executing Palestinians for selling land to Jews. Really it would be like watching Monty Python jumping the shark.

h/tip: Israel Matzav