![]() ![]() In a case from January 2019, Palestinian Authority Preventative Security forces detained Yousef Faqeeh, a journalist from Hebron, and questioned him about his political affiliations and a Facebook post listing all the positions held by a senior official. Human Rights Watch documented dozens of such arrests during 20. At least some of these arrests and charges were for peaceful criticism of, or opposition to, the Palestinian Authority or its officials. It also said prosecutors in 2018 charged 815 people under the restrictive Electronic Crimes Law, including some based on social media posts. It said its forces arrested 752 people during this same period for social media posts. These two charges in effect criminalize peaceful dissent. The Palestinian Authority said that its police and Preventative Security forces detained 1,609 people for insulting “higher authorities” and creating “sectarian strife” during this period. The Palestinian Authority reporting holding 1,134 people in detention as of April 21, whereas Hamas held 1,885 as of April 23. Hamas authorities said they had arrested 4,235 people in Gaza during this same period. In its response, which reflects a positive degree of transparency, the Palestinian Authority said its security forces had detained 65,415 Palestinians in the West Bank in 2018 and the first three months of 2019. But curbing systematic abuse will require translating these all-too-familiar statements into holding abusers accountable, Human Rights Watch said. Hamas authorities reiterated in their response to Human Rights Watch a commitment to human rights treaties ratified by the state of Palestine. In addition, the Palestinian Authority and Hamas responded in detail to a request from Human Rights Watch for information concerning the period beginning in 2018, the period after the one covered in the previous Human Rights Watch report.ĭays before forming a new government in April, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh vowed in a meeting with Palestinian journalists to safeguard free expression. Human Rights Watch documented five cases representative of systematic practice from early 2019 – two in the West Bank and three in Gaza – in which security forces arrested journalists and activists because of their peaceful opposition or criticism of authorities. From January 2018 until March 2019, courts in Gaza convicted no officers for arbitrary arrest, mistreatment, or torture, while courts in the West Bank convicted only one security officer for these offenses, sentencing him to 10 days in prison, according to figures provided by the Palestinian Authority and Hamas-led Interior Ministries. More than six months after a Human Rights Watch report found a systematic practice by both the Palestinian Authority and Hamas of arbitrary arrest and torture, there have been no serious efforts to hold wrongdoers to account or any apparent change in policy or practice. “Leaders who have been in power for more than a decade without elections should at the very least listen to criticism, not punish it.” “The Palestinian Authority and Hamas remain bitterly divided, but unified in a common approach to crushing dissent,” said Eric Goldstein, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. From January 2018 through March 2019, the Palestinian Authority admitted detaining more than 1,600 people based on their peaceful expression, while Hamas authorities arrested more than 1,000 during the March 2019 protests against its rule alone. (Ramallah) – Both the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Hamas authorities in Gaza are arbitrarily arresting peaceful critics and opponents, Human Rights Watch said today. One demonstrator holds a sign that reads, in Arabic, “We want electricity.” On that day, Hamas security forces detained scores who participated in the demonstrations in Jabalia. ![]() Protesting the electricity crisis, in the Jabalia refugee camp, Gaza, on January 12, 2017. ![]()
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