A/HRC/25/40 the soles of his feet. The other was reportedly beaten with sticks and a lash, and made to stand on one leg with arms lifted, while being beaten on the leg he was standing on.51 49. Detainees were held longest at the interrogation centre of the security agency in Gaza City and were allegedly prevented from meeting with their families during the interrogation phase which, in some cases, lasted several months. If at all, detainees were reportedly only able to meet their lawyers after the interrogations were completed and then only in the presence of security agency officials. This was the case of a 27-year-old man who was arrested by the internal security agency in April 2013 for collaborating with Israel. He was subjected to shabeh and sleep deprivation, and was only allowed to see his family after a month of detention, with no access to his lawyer during that period. 52 2. Accountability Israel 50. According to an Israeli NGO, in 2012, Israeli Military Police Criminal Investigation Division opened 103 investigations into allegations of criminal offences by members of the IDF against Palestinians and their property in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. This represented response to approximately 40 per cent of allegations received, compared to 62 per cent between 2000 and 2011.53 51. Available information indicates that not a single criminal investigation was opened into allegations of violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza by the IDF during the escalation of tension in November 2012.54 A Palestinian human rights NGO appealed 13 decisions not to open investigations; each appeal was either rejected or pending as of 8 November 2013.55 52. In the West Bank, criminal investigations were immediately opened in 12 of the 20 Palestinian deaths in which the IDF were implicated during the reporting period, including some of those documented above.56 It appears that some cases were not opened because of claims that firearms were used against the IDF. 53. Many human rights violations committed by the IDF during law enforcement operations were not investigated, both in the West Bank and in Gaza. A revised policy adopted by the Military Advocate General in 2011 to automatically open investigations into certain cases applies only where a Palestinian is killed outside of “an activity with clear elements of combat,” and excludes Gaza.57 For cases outside the scope of the policy, a criminal investigation is not normally opened unless concerns are raised during an operational debriefing.58 54. Even when opened, criminal investigations are beset with delays and other problems and rarely result in indictments. According to information collected by human rights organizations, only six IDF soldiers have been convicted of offences related to the deaths of Palestinians since September 2000, although over 179 such investigations were opened 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 12 Source: OHCHR-oPt. Ibid. See http://www.yesh-din.org/userfiles/file/datasheets/Law%20Enforcement%20upon%20%202012.pdf. Also A/HRC/22/35/Add.1; A/HRC/24/30. Source: Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR). Source: B’tselem. See http://mfa.gov.il/MFA/AboutIsrael/State/Law/Pages/New_investigation_policy_Palestinian_ casualties_IDF_fire_Judea_Samaria_6-Apr-2011.aspx; A/66/356, para. 18. See A/HRC/12/48, para. 121 for examples of shortcomings of operational debriefings.