[Gobal Report]

הדו"ח המלא של ארה"ב על השחיתות בישראל
http://www.global-report.com/a.php?c=gg&a=3606524&rc=il

דו"ח מחלקת המדינה בארה"ב קובע: יש בישראל אפליה, אלימות ושחיתות. מחלקת המדינה האמריקנית ציינה בדו"ח השנתי מספר הפרות בהן חטאנו, אולם הבהירה כי בסך הכל ישראל "מכבדת את זכויות האדם של אזרחיה". הבעיות: הטרדות פלסטינים, אפליית נשים וערבים, סחר והתעללות בנשים ועובדים זרים. על פי הדו"ח - ישראל היא לא הכי מושחתת בעולם, אבל הצליחה להעפיל למקום גבוה הרבה יותר מהשנה הקודמת וזו שקדמה לה (אחורה פנה, קדימה צעד...).

Government Corruption and Transparency

Corruption was considered a problem by many Israelis.
In July the Knesset established the Parliamentary Investigation Committee to Uncover Corruption in the Governing System but disbanded it in December to avoid politicizing the committee prior to the March 28, 2006, elections.

The Labor Party continued to investigate allegations that, during the party`s May membership drive, party activists forged voter registration forms. In November the party voided thousands of questionable signatures and deleted them from the voter registration list.

The attorney general continued to review Prime Minister Ariel Sharon`s connections to the "Cyril Kern Affair," in which Kern allegedly acted as a conduit for or source of illegal funding that Sharon used to refund earlier illegally obtained campaign contributions. At year`s end the case was still under investigation. On November 16, Omri Sharon, Prime Minister Sharon`s son and a member of the Knesset, pleaded guilty to lying under oath and falsifying company financial records to conceal illegally raised funds in conjunction with his father`s 1999 campaign in the Likud party primaries.

In July 2004 the prime minister dismissed Minister of Infrastructure and Knesset Member Josef Paritzky from the cabinet after Channel 1 Television broadcast a tape of Paritzky allegedly plotting with a private detective to defame a party rival. On January 17, the state attorney closed the case against Paritzky. He found no legal basis for criminal charges but harshly criticized Paritzky`s behavior. Paritzky continued to serve in the Knesset.

In September 2004 Knesset Member Tzachi Hanegbi was suspended from his post as minister of public security pending a criminal investigation into allegations of inappropriate political appointments while serving as environment minister from 2001-03. On December 7, the police recommended that the attorney general indict Hanegbi for irregular political appointments. At year`s end Hanegbi continued to serve as minister-without-portfolio while the attorney general continued to consider the case.

The law affords the public access to government information, and citizens could petition for such access. According to the ACRI and the Movement for Quality in Government (MQG), an NGO that investigates corruption and nontransparency issues, the government does not effectively implement its freedom of information act. The MQG charged that it had difficulty obtaining information from the government, notably on the budget and privatization

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b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association

Freedom of Assembly

The law provides for freedom of assembly and association, and the government generally respected these rights in practice. Throughout July the government, citing security concerns, prevented thousands of demonstrators from rallying close to the Gaza Strip to protest the government`s decision to withdraw from Gaza and four settlements in the West Bank.

On December 15, Adalah filed complaints with the PID against border policemen for allegedly using excessive force against a demonstration in the Bedouin community of Al-Mashash on November 15. The demonstration and ensuing police raid were prompted when government officials arrived in the Negev village to deliver demolition orders for illegally constructed buildings. According to Adalah, 12 protesters, including a pregnant woman, were injured during the clashes.