Ref:
55/2010

The Palestinian Centre for Human
Rights (PCHR) is grave concerned by and wishes to highlight the repeated
summonsing and detention of dozens of Fatah activists by the Internal Security
Service (ISS) in Gaza, as well as the confiscation of the passports of some of
these activists. PCHR calls upon the government in Gaza to refrain from
summonsing Fatah members and detaining them in degrading conditions. PCHR also
calls for the immediate release of all the political prisoners.

During the last few weeks, PCHR has
received dozens of complaints and testimonies from Fatah activists, including
women, who were repeatedly summonsed and detained in the Gaza Strip. According
to data made available to PCHR, in late May and during June, ISS has summonsed
Fatah activists and required them to appear before the ISS in their local
areas. In their testimonies, those summonsed reported that they arrived at ISS
as instructed, where they were held from the morning till the evening. Some of
the activists were placed under interrogation with regard to their activities
with the Fatah movement in the Gaza Strip, which, they were informed, is banned
in the Gaza Strip along with Fatah activities. The activists stated that they
were held in iron containers under very hot conditions or in poorly ventilated
cells. A number of the activists stressed to the PCHR fieldworker that they
were held in bad smelling restrooms for several hours. Those activists giving
testimonies said that following each episode of detention they were served a
new summons to appear before the ISS on the following day or few days later, at
the latest, and that they were held in the same conditions every time.

According to PCHR documentation, the
latest summons were served on Thursday, 1 July 2010, and Friday, 2 July 2010,
to more than fifty Fatah activists, including women, in Rafah and northern
Gaza. Those summonsed were required to appear before the ISS with their
passports on Saturday in their local areas. When they arrived at the ISS
offices, those summonsed were held for several hours and the ISS members
confiscated their passports, ostensibly to prevent them from traveling.