TEL AVIV, March 13, 2007, (WAFA)- Women Against the Occupation and for Human Rights (Machsomwatch) revealed that the Israeli military justice system practices is a part of the practices of the occupation forces in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

In a press releases to WAFA, Machsomwatch said that it conducted some 130 observations of remand in custody extensions in six military courts between December 2005 and December 2006.

It said that the military justice system, with its network of detention and lock-up facilities, prisons, interrogation centers and courts, is one of the key elements in the occupation of the West Bank by the Israel Defense (Occupation) Forces (IDF) [IOF].

Its installations are, in one way or another, largely concealed from the public gaze, some operate in secrecy, while others are inaccessible to the public.

"Even the military courts - which on the 'open court' principle should permit public access and follow-up of proceedings - are located inside military bases or police stations to which entry is only possible for those holding special permits. Obtaining such a permit involves complicated, time-consuming procedures whose outcome is by no means certain," it said.

The report traces the procedure of remand extension, describes the detainees, the grounds for detention, the role played by military judges, by police investigators and by attorneys. Appendices include a selection of reports and extracts of reports of the observations conducted in several military courtrooms.

Military law and the many orders issued by Israeli commanders in the various regions of the occupied West Bank govern every aspect of the lives of the local Palestinian population.

"A Palestinian need not be a criminal or a terrorist in order to find himself in the hands of the military justice system's many agents, whether the General Security Services (commonly known as the Shabak, an acronym of its Hebrew name), the police, the Prison Service, the army, the legal advisors of the defense establishment, and the judges. At the beginning of the legal process, the Shabak operates clandestinely, for those found 'guilty', the process ends in an isolated and remote prison." it said.

In between come events that get little public attention: arrests (which may take place from a person's home, in the street, at school, crossing a checkpoint, during an 'incident' or in an IDF-initiated action), interrogations, charges and confessions, the preparation of indictments, trial, and conviction or acquittal. There is only one stage at which it is sometimes possible to observe the working of the military justice system: the point at which the detainee is brought before a judge,Machsomwatch concluded.

S.A.S. (13:47 P) (11:47 GMT)