Palestine: Information pertaining to any cases of human rights violations committed by police officers or Fatah [Palestinian Authority] security forces in Gaza, including police officers in the division dealing with investigations related to narcotics; information on the change of regime in Gaza (1999-2007)

The US Department of State's 1999 and 2000 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for the "occupied territories" [West Bank and Gaza] both report that "[Palestinian Authority] PA security forces committed numerous serious human rights abuses during the year" (US 23 Feb. 2000; ibid. 23 Feb. 2001). In November 2001, Human Rights Watch reported that "[d]etainees who undergo interrogation by Palestinian security forces are commonly tortured, especially if they are suspected collaborators and particularly if they are held by the [General Intelligence Service] GIS, [Military Intelligence Service] M[I]S, or [Preventative Security Service] PSS" (31). Country Reports 2006, reporting on the "occupied territories," states that "[t]orture by PA security forces reportedly was widespread. Documentation of abuses by PA security forces was very limited, due partly to hesitancy by alleged victims to make public claims of torture or abuse against PA authorities" (US 6 Mar. 2007).

Sources report on cases of arbitrary arrest, arbitrary detention, and mistreatment in detention, including the following:

Country Reports 1999 states that

Palestinian security forces sometimes detained or placed under house arrest the relatives of alleged security criminals. On March 2, the General Intelligence Forces arrested and detained for 20 days 15-year-old Bilal Yehya Al-Ghoul after his father, held for terrorist activity, escaped from a Gaza prison. The minor reported that he was subjected to abuse and torture during his detention. (ibid. 23 Feb. 2000)

The Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR), an "accredited national human rights institution ... operating as an Ombudsman for the State of Palestine" that "monitors the status of human rights in Palestine" (ICHR n.d.), reports that Abdel Hamid Mahmoud Abdel Hamid Matar, [translation] "was arrested on 13/03/2000 by the General Intelligence Service for being a member of [Hamas]. He was released on 19/04/2000 without being charged or tried" (ibid. Oct. 2000).

The ICHR reports three cases of detainees arrested by the Preventive Security Force who were kept incarcerated in 1999 and 2000 after orders for their release were issued by the Superior Court of Justice in Gaza (ibid.).

Human Rights Watch reports that

Faruq Abu Hassan, a postal worker from Gaza, has been held by the MIS in Gaza without charge or trial since his arrest on November 8, 1994, and despite a High Court order for his release on December 9, 2000. (Nov. 2001, 31)

Human Rights Watch reports that Yusra al-Ramlawi,

a 29-year-old woman from Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip, was arrested in June [2001] by the GIS. Al-Ramlawi was not accused of being a collaborator herself, but was tortured in an unsuccessful attempt to persuade her to give false evidence that would implicate another person as a collaborator. (ibid., 32)

Sources report on deaths in custody, including the following:

The ICHR reports that

[translation]

El Akka, 24 years old, of Deir Al-Balah, died on 09/09/2001. He was shot to death by members of the Preventive Security Force for allegedly trying to escape while he was being transferred from the headquarters of the Preventive Security Force in Tel al-Hawa, Gaza, to the government buildings in downtown Gaza. The State Security Court had sentenced citizen El Akka to death. (ICHR 2001)

The ICHR reports that

[translation]

Abu Amera, 43 years old, of Deir Al-Balah, died on 14/08/2001. He was arrested by the intelligence service agency on 09/08/2001. He had been detained in the agency's detention centre in Gaza military barracks until the date of the announcement of his death. A relative of the deceased detainee said that he saw the corpse of citizen Abu Amera in the morgue of Shifa Hospital. His corpse bore signs of beating and showed that his hands were tied. There were also bruises and lacerations in the chest and back. (ibid.)

According to Human Rights Watch, Khaled al-Akkeh

was arrested by the PSS in Gaza on February 14, 2001 and convicted by the Gaza State Security Court on August 12, 2001 of helping Israeli forces kill Mas'ud Ayyad on February 13, 2001. Over a period of eighteen days after his arrest [he] was allegedly subjected to shabah [being made to stand or sit up in painful positions for long periods, often hooded or blindfolded and often combined with sleep deprivation] and punched repeatedly in the face with his head hooded ... [he] was shot by police on September 9 2001, apparently while trying to escape from custody. (Human Rights Watch Nov. 2001, 32)

Human Rights Watch reports that Suliman Qwaidh Mohammad Abu Amra

from Deir al-Balah, died on or about August 15, 2001 after having been reportedly arrested by the MIS in Gaza City on August 8, 2001 and held incommunicado until his death. The family was informed that he had died from a heart attack while being interrogated. The state security attorney general confirmed to Human Rights Watch that the autopsy carried out by a doctor at Shifa Hospital in Gaza showed signs of violence. (ibid., 34)

According to Human Rights Watch, Ala' al-Din Hassan Muhammad Wahba "from Khan Yunis, in the Gaza Strip, reportedly died in hospital on October 21, 2001, after three days of incommunicado detention by the GIS in Khan Yunis" (ibid., 35).

Sources report that the Fatah party lost the parliamentary elections to Hamas in the Gaza Strip in January 2006 (PHRMG Jan. [2008], 3; BBC 20 Dec. 2006). Sources report on violence after the 2006 elections (PHRMG Jan. [2008], 2; PCHR [2008], 72). According to the Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group (PHRMG), an organization that documents human rights abuses committed against Palestinians, including abuses committed by the PA (PHRMG n.d.), "the two movements [Hamas and Fatah] failed to uphold various peace agreements constituted in 2006 and 2007, and conflict continued into June 2007, when Hamas initiated a rapid military conquest of the Gaza Strip" (ibid. Jan.[2008], 2). Sources report clashes between Hamas and Fatah members in June 2007 (ibid., 2; PCHR [2008], 72). The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), an NGO in Gaza "dedicated to protecting human rights, promoting the rule of law and upholding democratic principles" (PCHR n.d.), reported "various flagrant violations of human rights and international law by militants and security officers from both sides" (ibid. [2008], 73). Amnesty International (AI) similarly reported that both Fatah and Hamas "committed grave human rights abuses" (24 Oct. 2007). Sources indicate that Hamas took control of Gaza in June 2007 (PHRMG Jan. [2008], 4; PCHR [2008], 72). AI indicates that, after Hamas' takeover in June, President Abbas' suspension of the "operations of PA security forces and judicial institutions ... created a legal and institutional vacuum," which "opened the way for Hamas to establish a parallel security and law enforcement apparatus" (24 Oct. 2007).

Information pertaining to cases of human rights violations committed by police officers in the division dealing with narcotics investigations could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Amnesty International (AI). 24 October 2007. "Hundreds Killed in Gaza Strip Violence." [Accessed 21 Jan. 2014]

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). 20 December 2006. "Gaza Truce Hold Despite Violence." [Accessed 21 Jan. 2014]

Human Rights Watch. November 2001. Israel, The Occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, and the Palestinian Authority Territories - Justice Undermined: Balancing Security and Human Rights in the Palestinian Justice System. Vol. 13, No. 4. [Accessed 21 Jan. 2014]

Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR). 2001. Conducting Investigations and Autopsy in Cases of Prison Deaths in Palestinian Detention Centres in 2001. Translated by the Translation Bureau, Public Works and Government Services Canada. [Accessed 14 Jan. 2014]

_____. October 2000. Political Imprisonment at the Hand of the Palestinian National Authority During 2001. Translated by the Translation Bureau, Public Works and Government Services Canada. [Accessed 14 Jan. 2014]

_____. N.d. "About Us." [Accessed 22 Jan. 2014]

Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR). [2008]. Annual Report 2007. [Accessed 21 Jan. 2014]

_____. N.d. "About PCHR." [Accessed 22 Jan. 2014]

Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group (PHRMG). January [2008]. Fatah and Hamas Human Rights Violations in the Palestinian Occupied Territories from June 2007 to December 2007. [Accessed 21 Jan. 2014]

_____. N.d. "About Us." [Accessed 22 Jan. 2014]

United States (US). 6 March 2007. Department of State. "Israel and the Occupied Territories." Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2006. [Accessed 22 Jan. 2014]

_____. 23 February 2001. Department of State. "Israel and the Occupied Territories." Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2000. [Accessed 21 Jan. 2014]

_____. 23 February 2000. Department of State. "Occupied Territories." Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1999. [Accessed 21 Jan. 2014]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: Attempts to contact the following organizations were unsuccessful within the time constraints of this Response: Al Haq; Al Mezan Center for Human Rights; Independent Commission for Human Rights; Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group.

Internet sites, including: Al Mezan Center for Human Rights; ecoi.net; Factiva; Palestine - Ministry of Interior; United Nations - Refworld.