Ref: 38/2015
Date: 05 July 2015
Time: 10:00 GMT
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) is deeply concerned over a wide-scale arrest campaign launched by security services in the West Bank in the last few days against a number of Hamas members. PCHR calls upon the national unity government in Ramallah to take clear measures that completely compel the law enforcement authorities to fully comply with the law and completely stop arrests on political grounds.
According to investigations conducted by PCHR, on Thursday evening, 02 July 2015, and Friday morning, 03 July 2015, the Palestinian General Intelligence Service and Preventive Security Service launched an arrest campaign throughout the West Bank against 148 Hamas members. Of those arrested persons were Khaldon al-Mathloum, a journalist from Nablus; ‘Abdullah Yasin from Tulkarm; and Fadel Yousif Khalil Mousam Director of Yata Charitable Society in Hebron. According to Investigations conducted by PCHR, most of the detainees were arrested without legal arrest warrants, and the security services confiscated computers from their houses as well. It should be noted that this campaign is the second of its kind conducted by the Palestinian security services against Hamas members this year as they launched a similar campaign against 32 Hamas members on 08 March 2015.
This latest arrest campaign was carried out throughout the West Bank as follows: Ramallah (22 arrests); Tulkarm (28 arrests); Nablus (28 arrests); Jenin (14 arrests); Tubas (8 arrests); Hebron (13 arrests); Jericho (3 arrests); Qalqilya (6 arrests); Salfit (13 arrests); and Bethlehem (13 arrests).
PCHR is deeply concerned over the arrest campaign and:
