Roundups of Palestinians Causes Fear
More than 1,400 Palestinian males, from gawky teens to paunchy middle-aged men, have been rounded up for questioning during the 10-day Israeli military offensive in the major towns of the West Bank. It's Israel's biggest manhunt in years for Palestinian fugitives wanted in connection with terror attacks.

Those caught up in the dragnet include teachers, doctors, students, laborers, accountants, policemen and -- according to the Israeli military -- more than 360 wanted men. The army spokesman's office said it did not know how many of those detained had been released, calling the situation ``very fluid.''

Israel defends the roundups as a legitimate means of hunting down militants responsible for suicide bombings, shooting sprees and other attacks that have killed more than 100 Israeli civilians in the last month alone. But Palestinians call the mass arrests a form of collective punishment, meant to intimidate and humiliate them.…

Some of the detainees say they have been beaten, tortured or deprived of food and water. Four Israeli human rights groups -- citing what they say are credible accounts of abuse provided by Israeli soldiers in military camps where detainees are being held -- went to Israel's highest court to seek a guarantee of protection from torture and access to legal counsel for the detainees.

The request was rejected Sunday by the Supreme Court, which said it could not consider the case unless it was made on behalf of a specific Palestinian complainant. With all the Israeli-held cities of the West Bank under tight military curfew, that was impossible, the human rights groups said.

``Our field investigators can't travel to these areas, which are closed military zones, and some of those Palestinians we would want to obtain testimony from are still in detention,'' said Lior Yavne, a spokesman for Betselem, one of the Israeli groups that joined in the case. ``This is a very regrettable outcome.''
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Mideast-Detainees.html