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Ticking Bomb Goes Off Without A Bang: The
Hamdan Case On October
6, 1996, Muhammad Hamdan was arrested by Israeli General Security Service
agents at his home in Beit Sira village near Ramallah. The GSS claimed to
have information on Hamdan implicating him in plans to commit terrorist
acts in Israel, and that under the necessity defense, it is permitted to
interrogate him using methods that the world considers to be torture. The
Israeli High Court of Justice (HCJ) decided on November 14, that "....in
our opinion [the GSS] is in the possession of information that
substantiates a suspicion that [Hamdan] has critical information, that
must be obtained in order to prevent a serious disaster, save human lives,
and prevent serious terrorist attacks."
And so the 'physical pressure,' or torture, continued. The GSS claimed
that Hamdan was a classic 'ticking bomb,' and the HCJ believed them.
After 62 days of torture, in which no bomb went off and the imaginary
'ticking' became fainter and fainter, Hamdan was given four months of
administrative detention in December, leading to the suspicion that Israel
does not have, and has never had, any evidence linking Hamdan to illegal
activities.
, and has never had, any evidence linking Hamdan to illegal activities.
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