Israel has by far the most agressive counter terrorism policy of the 3 countries.

Israeli interrogation methods such as prolonged sleep deprivation and violent shaking amount to torture and should be halted immediately, a U.N. human rights committee said Friday May 9th 1997.

The Committee Against Torture also denounced the use of death threats, loud music and other interrogation methods Israel uses on suspected terrorists.

Peter Thomas Burns, a committee member, said torture "is particularly evident where such methods of interrogation are used in combination, which appears to be the standard case."

Israeli representative Yosef Lamdan denied his country tortured suspected terrorists, and said its candor with the committee had backfired.

"Israel has nothing to hide on this issue, and paradoxically, has been badly done by the committee for its openness and honesty," Lamdan said.  Israel has defended its interrogation methods, saying they have helped prevent 90 terrorist attacks in the last two years.

The conclusions had been widely expected. The committee, which meets twice a year, has no enforcement powers, and committee Chairman Dipanda Mouelle acknowledged that as a result its "voice was a weak one," with only moral obligations.

Hours after the fourth suicide bomb attack in Israel in nine days, on March 4th 1996, the Israeli government announced a sweeping new campaign against Palestinian terrorists.

"We will go to any corner of where the terror has taken root," Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres vowed.  

As part of its crackdown on terrorism, Israel claimed the right to enter Palestinian self-rule areas to fight Muslim militants who are responsible for a wave of suicide bombings.

"The recent wave of attacks has affected the very fundamentals of public life in Israel," said Israel's Ambassador to the U.S. Itamar Rabinovitch, speaking after the cabinet meeting. (349K WAV sound)

He said the goals of the crackdown on terrorism in Israel are to:

• put an immediate end to attacks on Israeli civilians
• provide long-term security to Israeli citizens and
• prevent the undermining of the Middle East peace process.

Peres declined to discuss details on plans that could allow Israeli soldiers to enter Palestinian self-rule areas. Asked about the decision, Peres said Israeli forces would go where they need to go to get terrorists.

"What I needed to spell out, I did. What I didn't think I should specify, I didn't."

Palestinians protest decision to enter self-rule areas

Marwan Kanafani, spokesman for Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat told CNN, "We are very disturbed by this decision. We believe that if executed it might raise tensions ... The Palestinian Authority has taken effective action to combat terror. We hope that the anger will not lead to actions which could hurt citizens on both sides."

Arafat, himself, did not immediately respond to the cabinet's decision, but condemned the latest bombing and pledged to support Israeli efforts to crack down on Palestinian terrorists.

"We will cooperate with the Israeli government in confronting this dangerous criminal activity that is aimed against the peace process and against the two people -- the Palestinians and the Israelis," he said.

Israel, on March 20, 1996, struck back against Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon after a suicide bomber from the group killed an Israeli soldier.  A Hezbollah bomber blew himself up alongside an Israeli army convoy in Israel's self-declared security zone. One Israeli officer died; another was wounded.  In response to

the suicide bombing, diplomatic sources said, Israel launched artillery attacks on suspected Hezbollah locations in south Lebanon. Details were sketchy on the specifics of the retaliation.

Hezbollah guerrillas have claimed responsibility for two attacks earlier that month in which five Israeli soldiers were killed.