On 15 December 2002, the Supreme Court dismissed a petition submitted by seven Palestinian detainees and ten Palestinian and Israeli human rights organizations protesting the inhumane conditions faced by close to 1,000 Palestinian detainees held at the Ansar III (“Ketziot”) Detention Center in the Naqab (Negev). While rejecting the petition, the Court nonetheless requested that the Israeli army improve certain conditions at Ansar III.

In the petition, submitted on 28 June 2002, Adalah Staff Attorney Morad el-Sana argued that conditions at Ansar III violate the fundamental human rights of the detainees under both Israeli and international humanitarian law. The ten human rights organizations named as petitioners included Adalah, LAW: The Palestinian Society for the Protection of Law and the Environment, HaMoked: The Center for the Defense of the Individual, B'Tselem, Addameer, Al Haq, Women's Center for Legal Aid and Counselling (WCLAC), Nadi el-Asseer (Palestinian Prisoners' Club), the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, and Physicians for Human Right - Israel. The petitioners named Yuni Ben David, Military Commander of Ansar III and Minister of Defense Benjamin Ben-Eliezer as respondents.

In its judgment, the Court noted that many of the prisoners at Ansar III are administrative detainees, and as such, they should be held under detention conditions that are, at the very least, no worse than those afforded to other prisoners. The Court held that the detainees must be treated humanely, in recognition of their human dignity, according to the provisions of Israeli and international law. Conditions at the facility initially did not meet minimal standards, the Court ruled, but have since been upgraded to meet or exceed these requirements.

The Court noted problems with the height of the detainees' beds, and requested that reasonable sleeping conditions be provided. Further, the Court requested that the army re-examine the issues of housing the detainees in tents, their toilet facilities, and the provision of tables for eating. Finally, the Court suggested transferring responsibility for the conditions at the prison from the army to the Prisons Authority, which is more experienced at balancing questions of security and prisoner needs.

On the same day, the Supreme Court also dismissed a petition challenging the inhumane detention conditions at the Ofer Detention Camp. An English summary of both Supreme Court judgments can be found on Adalah's web site. Go to www.adalah.org and click on “Occupied Territories Emergency Agenda.”

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