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New Report: Arbitrary Arrest and Torture Under the Palestinian Authority and Hamas
(Human Rights Watch) In the 25 years since Palestinians gained a degree of self-rule over the West Bank and Gaza, their authorities have established machineries of repression to crush dissent, including through the use of torture. Both the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Hamas in Gaza have in recent years carried out scores of arbitrary arrests for peaceful criticism of the authorities. This report draws on 86 cases which show that Palestinian authorities routinely arrest people whose peaceful speech displeases them and torture those in their custody. The arrests for nonviolent speech constitute serious violations of international human rights law. The torture as practiced by both the PA and Hamas may amount to a crime against humanity, given its systematic practice over many years.