Human Rights Watch says abuse of critics by Palestinian Authority and Hamas could amount to crimes against humanity; report also notes alleged torture of Palestinians by Israel
Palestinian security officers clash with demonstrators in the city of Ramallah in the West Bank, on June 26, 2021, during a rally protesting the death of human rights activist Nizar Banat. (Ahmad Gharabli/AFP)
Palestinian authorities in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip systematically torture critics in detention, a practice that could amount to crimes against humanity, an international rights group said Friday.
In its report, Human Rights Watch (HRW) called for donor countries to cut off funding to Palestinian security forces that commit such crimes and urged the International Criminal Court to investigate.
The report alleged that Palestinian security forces “use solitary confinement and beatings, including whipping feet and forcing detainees into painful stress positions for prolonged periods, hoisting their arms behind their backs with cables or rope, to punish and intimidate critics and opponents, and elicit confessions.”
The report also describes Israeli mistreatment and torture of Palestinian detainees in the West Bank, saying that no indictments have been issued against Israeli security forces despite hundreds of complaints made over the last 20 years.
HRW’s report comes a year after the death of Nizar Banat, an outspoken critic of the Palestinian Authority, whose family says he died after PA security forces stormed his residence in the middle of the night and beat him with metal batons. His death sparked weeks of protests against the PA, which governs parts of the West Bank. Palestinian security forces violently dispersed some of those protests.
Amnesty International said last week that the Palestinian Authority has failed to hold its security forces accountable for the death. Palestinian authorities arrested 14 officers last summer and are trying them in a military court, but have taken no action against top commanders.
“More than a year after beating to death Nizar Banat, the Palestinian Authority continues to arrest and torture critics and opponents,” said Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine director at Human Rights Watch.
“Systematic abuse by the PA and Hamas forms a critical part of the repression of the Palestinian people,” he said, referring to the terror group that rules Gaza.
The group listed Palestinians who it said had been arbitrarily arrested in the aftermath of Banat’s death.
HRW said security forces are not held to account for the alleged torture and that given their systematic nature over many years, the practice could amount to crimes against humanity.
The Palestinians are signatories of the Convention Against Torture, which requires members to work to prevent torture.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
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