![Israeli soldiers detain a Palestinian at the entrance of Ofer Prison near Ramallah [Issam Rimawi/Apaimages]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/2012_02_21-Israeli-soldiers-detain-a-Palestinian-protester-at-the-entrance-of-Ofer-Prison-near-Ramalla-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
The Israeli parliament approved a new law in its first reading on Monday that would exempt Israeli police and Shin Bet officers from “the necessity of making video or audio recordings of interrogations of suspected terrorists.” The vote passed 46-15.
According to Haaretz, “officially, current law requires all interrogations to be recorded. But the Knesset passed temporary legislation several years ago waiving this directive during interrogations of suspected terrorists, and the legislation has been periodically renewed.”
The current bill “would simply make this waiver permanent.”
Speaking against the legislation, Joint List MK Aida Touma-Suliman said: “This bill would give every security interrogator total immunity to do whatever he pleases, and nobody will know how much force he uses or what he does to the suspect.”
“This is a crime not only against international law, but also against basic morality, which says that people suspected of security offenses have basic rights that must be upheld.”
Her colleague MK Jamal Zahalka said: “This bill serves one purpose and one only – concealing crimes knowingly committed during these interrogations by the police and the Shin Bet, with encouragement from the political leadership. If there’s nothing to hide, why hide it?”