Ref: 22/2016

The Palestinian security services in the Gaza Strip prevented a group of public figures from holding the first founding conference titled “Patriots to End the Palestinian Split and Recover National Unity” that was scheduled on Saturday, 09 April 2016, in the Palestine Red Crescent Society’s (PRCS) hall in Gaza City. The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) condemns the ban and stresses that the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and holding private meetings is guaranteed in the Palestinian Law, particularly in Article (26) of the 2003 Palestinian Basic Law.

Member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) and one of the organizers of the conference, Mr. Jamil al-Majdalawi, stated to PCHR’s fieldworker:

“On 07 April 2016, the conference preparatory committee has received a phone call from a security officer, who verbally informed the committee about cancelling the written approval that was previously given to them to hold the conference. Moreover, the officer threatened that they would use all means available to ban the conference. Therefore, the preparatory committee convened and decided that it was difficult to inform the invitees, who were about 400 persons, about canceling the conference. They decided instead to be present in the date and place of the conference and inform the audience about what happened. On Saturday, 09 April 2016, we headed to the PRCS’s hall, where there were a number of police officers some of whom were in plain clothes. They tried to harass the audience and force them to get out of the place, but we left the place quietly before anything happens.”

The conference preparatory committee has issued a statement about the ban and assault on its members, in spite of getting a prior permission that should not have been already required for holding the conference. The committee stated, “We contacted Hamas security services and got a written permission to hold the conference although we know that meetings in closed place do not require such permission. However, we wanted to avoid any forms of harassment.”

It should be mentioned that security services in the Gaza Strip and West Bank has always prevented peaceful assemblies and private meetings and imposed Illegal conditions. In spite of the continued efforts of the civil society to oblige the Palestinian Authority (PA) and security services to respect and protect these rights, no progress has been achieved in this regard. This is attributed to the absence of political will, the disruption of the PLC, and the split of the Palestinian judiciary.

PCHR condemns banning the conference, especially at a time that the Palestinian people is waiting for positive results out of the latest reconciliation meetings to end the internal split.

In view of the above, PCHR stresses that:

1. Holding meetings in closed places does not require a prior permission or even notification from the PA in accordance to Article 26 of the Palestinian Basic Law and 1998 Public Meetings Law. This Article defines public meetings as, “Any meeting to which at least 50 persons are invited in an open area including public squares, sports fields, parks, etc…”;
2. The security services’ prevention of the meeting is considered as an abuse of power, which is not based on the law or any objective justification; and
3. Peaceful assemblies and private meetings held without the presence of police officers is considered as a right that should be respected and protected by the PA in accordance with its obligations in the Palestinian Law and Article (21) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

PCHR warns that the suppression of freedoms threats the security and stability of the community and:

• Calls upon the Palestinian security services to stop violating rights and freedoms, especially the right to peaceful assembly, and respect the international human rights standards; and
• Calls upon the Attorney General in the Gaza Strip to initiate an investigation in the abuse of power committed by the security services.