Even as Israeli lawmakers moved to soften this week’s landmark High Court of Justice ruling banning physical force in the interrogation of suspects, an attorney who brought the case vowed to return to court to challenge any modifications.
“What they are talking of is a law to bypass the ruling of the High Court,” said Allegra Pacheco, who represented the Public Committee Against Torture, one of three organizations and seven Palestinians that brought the case. “I don’t think that would work.

The United States has long barred the types of “physical pressure” outlawed by Israel’s Supreme Count this week in an historic ruling. But that has not hamstrung law enforcement officials here in their counterterrorism efforts, say experts.

This applies even to so-called “ticking time bomb” cases — where authorities are acting to prevent an imminent terrorist attack — of the sort that Israel claims pose a unique threat to its society, these sources say.