Palestine: Forced recruitment by Hamas, Fatah or other organizations in the West Bank; whether forced recruitment by these groups occurs in universities; consequences for individuals who refuse to join these groups (2013- November 2015)

Information on forced recruitment by Hamas and Fatah in the West Bank was scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

In correspondence with the Research Directorate, an associate professor of political studies at Queen's University, who has published research on Israeli-Palestinian relations and Islamic movements in the Middle East, stated that he has no knowledge of Fatah or Hamas forcibly recruiting individuals on university campuses or elsewhere in the West Bank between 2013 and 2015 (Associate Professor 21 Oct. 2015). The Associate Professor noted that he heard of instances in which individuals were pressured to join these groups in the "distant past," although he is unable to verify if the claims were true (ibid.). In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a professor of political science at McGill University, whose research focuses on the Arab-Israeli peace process and regional conflict in the Middle East, said that "Hamas is unable to forcibly recruit individuals in the West Bank. Fatah doesn't really do so--at most, there might be some peer pressure to join the organization" (Professor of political science 21 Oct. 2015). The same source stated that most university students in the West Bank are not part of Fatah or any other group; while there might be peer pressure for students to join an organization, to his knowledge, "there is not forcible recruitment" on university campuses (ibid.). In addition, he stated that he is "unaware of any case where an individual faced repercussions for not joining Fatah" (ibid.). Corroborating information 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

Associate Professor of Political Studies, Queen's University. 21 October 2015. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.

Professor of political science, McGill University. 21 October 2015. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: Assistant Professor of political science, Boston College; Associate Professor of political science, University of Massachussets, Boston, HaMoked; Israel Palestine Center for Research and Information; Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group; Professor of history, Columbia University; Professor of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African studies, Columbia University; Professor of politics and international studies, University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies, Professor of political science; University of Pennsylvania; Professor of sociology and anthropology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Senior Research Fellow, Department of Languages and Cultures of Near and Middle East, University of London; Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

Internet sites, including: Agence France Presse; Al Jazeera; Amnesty International; Arutz Sheva; BBC; Brookings Institution; Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; ecoi.net; Factiva; Freedom House; The Globe and Mail; Haaretz Israeli News; Human Rights Watch; Jane's Intelligence Review; The New York Times; Political Handbook of the World; Radio Free Asia; Radio Free Europe; Small Arms Survey; United States - Department of State; Washington Institute for Near East Policy; The Washington Post; Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars.