Ref: 104/2010

The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) the storming of the house of Fathi al-Qar’awi, Member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) from the Change and Reform Bloc, in Tulkarm by Palestinian Security Services. The security services also confiscated some of the house’s contents and arrested one of his sons.

According to investigations conducted by PCHR and the testimony of al-Qar’awi, at approximately 16:00 on Sunday, 21 November 2010, a big force of the Palestinian security services surrounded al-Qar’awi’s house in the southwest of Nour Shams refugee camp, east of Tulkarm. The force members started climbing the outside fence and spread into the yard. Al-Qar’awi went out of the house and told them that he is a PLC member and has parliamentary immunity. Nonetheless, the force broke into the house, cut wires of the telephone and TV, collected the mobile phones, searched the house and damaged its contents, confiscated a computer set, a laptop, and documents relevant to al-Qar’awi’s work and confiscated the university notebooks belonging to his son Hamza, who is detained by the General Intelligence Service (GIS) in Jneid prison in Nablus. Before they retreated after approximately an hour and a half, the security services arrested al-Qar’awi’s son, Hazem, 24, and transported him to an unknown destination.

At approximately 12:00 on Monday, 22 November 2010, a 3-member force of the GIS broke into the house again, searched the library and confiscated a book.

PCHR strongly condemns the storming and searching of al-Qar’awi’s house, noting that he has parliamentary immunity, and:

1. Stresses that immunity enjoyed by the PLC members is constitutionally guaranteed in accordance with the law of the PLC members’ duties and rights, which bans any form of harm against them throughout the period of immunity; 
2. Calls upon the Attorney General in Ramallah to seriously investigate the attack, prosecute the perpetrators and bring them to justice; and
3. Calls upon the governments in Ramallah and Gaza to immediately stop such acts, and comply with the Palestinian law and international human rights standards.