Palestine: Abuses up in Gaza and West Bank

Human rights conditions have worsened in both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank since Hamas ousted Fatah in Gaza last year, a Palestinian rights group has said.

The Palestinian Independent Commission for Citizens' Rights (PICCR) said in its annual report, rights abuses had increased in both territories after Islamist Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip following clashes with President Mahmoud Abbas's secular Fatah faction in June.

"Our report finds that unfortunately because of what happened in Gaza, and the violent confrontation between Fatah and Hamas, grave human rights violations have resulted," PICCR head Mamdouh al-Aker said.

"There is a regression in the status of human rights in Gaza and the West Bank," he said.

Abbas sacked a Hamas-led government following Hamas's seizure of Gaza on June 14 and appointed a Western-backed administration in the West Bank - a move that eased trade sanctions. Israel has since tightened its blockade on Gaza.

The PICCR, which has offices in both territories, said Fatah and Hamas have both used the law "as a tool to justify practices and policies each side uses to challenge the other".

Human rights groups have reported abuses by both Hamas and Fatah forces, such as the deaths of prisoners in detention and cases of torture.

PICCR official Muin Barghouthi told a news conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah that while 412 Palestinians were killed by Israeli troops in 2007, 585 were killed in factional Palestinian fighting, the overwhelming majority in Gaza.

"In June last year, 190 people, including civilians and children, were killed in Gaza and no files were opened to investigate the crimes," Barghouthi said.

Date: 27 May 2008

Source: Reuters