[1] PCATI was founded in 1990 in reaction to what it describes as "the ongoing policy of the Israeli government, which permitted the systematic use of torture and ill treatment in Shin Bet interrogations".

[2] PCATI monitors detention centers and advocates against the use of torture in interrogation in Israel using legal means, supporting relevant legislation and an information campaign aimed at raising public awareness of the subject.

However, following the onset of the Second Intifada in September 2000, there was, again, a sharp increase in the number of complaints of torture and ill treatment indicating a reversion to the methods prohibited by the Supreme Court.

This resulted from the exploitation of "necessity defense" opening allowed by the Court in its ruling, or by altogether denying the fact that physical force was used in interrogation, which victims would find difficult to challenge.

These include articles, about PCATI or with PACTI as a source, in the Israeli newspapers Haaretz,[11] Times of Israel,[12] the Jerusalem Post[13],+972 Magazine[14] and the British BBC[15] as well as The Guardian.

[16] On 20 September 2016, NGO Monitor called out the inability of PCATI to base some of their allegations, such as the 2013 claim that Israel placed Palestinian children (and adults) in iron cages.