Human Rights Watch letter to Knesset condemning terror suspect detention bill
On 15 March, Human Rights Watch (HRW) sent a letter to Knesset Members calling on them to reject a bill regarding laws of detention of terror suspects, arguing that it would "create a two-tiered system" which would be more stringent for non-residents. While acknowledging that "Israel faces grave security threats and has a duty to protect its citizens" HRW argued that the laws aimed at combating terrorism must be "applied in a non-discriminatory manner." The letter compared the proposed bill to similar counter-terrorism legislation in other countries such as the U.K. and Australia. In response to these complaints, also made by Amnesty International, Adalah, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel and the Public Committee Against Torture (PCATI), Committee chairman Michael Eitan defended the bill stating that the reason the laws were harsher than in other countries was because few other countries experienced the level of terrorism that Israel does.
