JERUSALEM - A human rights group says Israel has stepped up its psychological torture of Palestinian suspects -- in part by insinuating their families will be hurt if they don't co-operate.
The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel makes the allegation in an 86-page report that examined six cases over the past year.
It says Israel has put more emphasis on psychological torture since Israel's Supreme Court restricted the use of physical torture in a 1999 ruling.
In one case, the group says, Israeli agents convinced a suspect his wife had also been arrested and tortured, driving him to attempt suicide.
In another, they detained a couple for an extended period, tortured them physically, and withheld information about their two young children to try to break them.
The Shin Bet internal security agency, which conducts the interrogations, denied the charges as a parliamentary committee heard the human rights group's findings in a special session Sunday.
