Ref: 98/2011

The Palestinian Centre for Human
Rights (PCHR) condemns the arrest of a number of Hamas members by the security
services in the West Bank. The arrests coincided with the speech of the
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas before the UN General Assembly, despite the
reconciliation reached between Hamas and Fatah in May. PCHR calls upon the government in Ramallah to
put an end to summons and arrests based on political grounds.

According to investigations conducted
by PCHR and statements given by persons who were arrested and subsequently
released[1],
the Palestinian Preventive Service (PPS) and the General Intelligence Service
(GIS) arrested a number of Hamas members in the West Bank on Thursday morning,
22 September 2011. The detainees were
questioned regarding the current condition of the Palestinian Authority and
President Mahmoud Abbas’s step to request United Nations acceptance of
Palestine as a full member State. In
Tulkarem, PPS members called a number of Hamas members and asked them to report
to the PPS headquarters on Thursday, 22 September. Upon their arrival at the PPS headquarters,
they were detained until Friday morning, 23 September 2011. Before being released PPS members forced the
detainees to complete a four question questionnaire regarding the request for
United Nations’ acceptance of Palestine as a full member, reconciliation and
the political condition of the Palestinian Authority.

In the same context, at least eight
members of Hamas were arrested on Thursday morning, 22 September, by GIS
members in Tulkarem. These Hamas members
were released in the evening of the same day after having been questioned about
the same issues.

PCHR condemns political arrests of
Hamas members in the West Bank despite the reconciliation reached between Fatah
and Hamas and:

1- Calls upon
the government in Ramallah to put an end to summons and arrests based on
political grounds, and reminds of the verdict of the Palestinian Higher Court
of Justice on 20 February 1999 considering political arrests illegal;

2- Calls upon
the Palestinian security services to respect international human rights
standards, the Palestinian Basic Law and other relevant laws.