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The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI) slammed the Israeli forces for failing to address reports of soldiers abusing Palestinian prisoners, neglecting to formulate clear arresttransport orders that would ensure prisoners safety.

PCATI said in its semiannual report released last fortnight that Israeli soldiers routinely abuse Palestinian prisoners while being taken into custody and the army and law enforcement ignores the abuse.

The report, dubbed Unlawful in reality soldiers abuse of Palestinian detainees, unveils a series of cases in which Palestinians who were arrested and handcuffed were abused by Israeli soldiers while being detained or transported to a holding facility, to the extent that some of them needed medical attention.

The PCATI report noted 90 testimonies of abuse between 2006 and 2007, but said the actual number of cases is higher. The Israeli forces, said the report, is doing little to nothing, to stop this abuse. According to an Israeli forces spokespersons unit report, filed with the Israeli human rights group Yesh Din, only 35 of the investigations resulted in indictments PCATIs report said the Israeli military chooses to ignore the majority of these cases. The fact is that soldiers abuse of handcuffed detainees has become somewhat of a routine matter, said the report. The military and its wardens are doing nothing to stop this phenomenon. Acczording to the PCATI, even the cases that made it to trial resulted in convictions of soldiers on charges that carry no more than a fourmonth prison term.

At times, abusive practices involve dogs that are employed by the military forces during arrest operations and transported in vehicles along with Palestinian detainees.

Minors, who must be granted special protection under both Israeli and international law, are also victims of abuse. The report, which is based on testimonies from prisoners, soldiers and commanders, said the abuses of Palestinian detainees are met with absolute indifference from the military and political establishments.

There are nearly 11,000 Palestinians held in Israeli jails and detention centers, including at least 126 women and 450 minors.

The UN atomic watchdog chief has warned that an attack on Iran over its controversial nuclear program would turn the region into a fireball, as Tehran rejected an Israeli strike as impossible. Mohamed ElBaradei also warned that he would not be able to continue in his role as International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director general, should the Islamic republic be attacked. His stark comments came as Iran stressed yet again that it would not negotiate with world powers over its nuclear program if it is required to suspend its controversial uranium enrichment.

A military strike (against Iran) would in my opinion be worse than anything else. It would transform the Middle East region into a ball of fire, said ElBaradei. A report by the New York Times cited US officials as saying, a major Israeli military exercise earlier last month seemed to be a practice for any potential strike against Irans nuclear facilities. In Athens, an official with the Greek Air Forces central command confirmed the substance of the US media report, stating that it had taken part in joint training exercises with Israel off the Mediterranean island of Crete. The maneuvers, codenamed Glorious Spartan 08, took place on May 28 and June 12, and consisted of aerial exercises and knowledge exchange, said the Greek source, who requested anonymity.

The goal was for more than 100 Israeli F16 and F15 fighter jets to prepare for longrange strikes and demonstrate Israels serious concern over Irans nuclear ambitions, the Times reported. But ElBaradei said any attack would simply harden Irans position in its row with the West over its nuclear program.

He responded to talk of a military strike by saying, such impudence and audacity to have an aggression against our national interest and integrity is an impossible action. For his part, Irans ambassador to the IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, said Tehran would continue uranium enrichment nonstop since this activity is under the 24 hour surveillance (of IAEA cameras).