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Press Release 29 November 1999 |
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| The Palestinian Authority Arrested 9 Palestinian Figures and Placed Two Under House Arrest | ||||
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The Palestinian Security Apparatus during the last two days arrested and imposed house arrest against a group of Palestinian politicians, academics and writers. In the last two days, nine Palestinians have been arrested and two placed under house arrest. The background for this was a publication of a political statement on November 27, 1999 by twenty Palestinians, eight of them members of the Palestinian Legislative Council, which criticised 'tyranny, corruption, humiliation and abuse of the Palestinian people' by the PNA. Al-Haq views with grave concern this campaign of arrests and the house arrest orders, which are in effect illegal, as they are not based upon any judicial warrants. At around 2 A.M., November 28th, 1999 the Palestinian Security Apparatus arrested Dr. Abdulsattar Qasim, History Professor at An-Najah University, in Nablus from his home. On the same day, they also arrested two physicians, Dr. AbdulRahim Kitani and Dr. Yasser Abu Safiyeh, who is a member of the Board of the Union of Health Work Committees, from Nablus. During the afternoon of the same day, the Criminal Police Unit in Ramallah arrested Dr. Adel Samara, an economic researcher, and Ahmad Qatamish, Member of the Political Bureau of the PFLP, from al-Bireh, who had spent six years under administrative detention in Israeli jails. The Criminal Police Unit in Hebron also arrested yesterday, Ahmad Shaker Doodeen from Dura, Hebron, and, Adnan Odeh, a researcher in the Palestinian Parliamentary Research Unit from Nablus, was also arrested. Ismat Shakhshir was ordered to report for questioning by the Palestinian Intelligence Forces in Nablus. She was released on bail after questioning in order to report on a second day for further interrogation, today. Until this point she has not been released. Al-Haq also learned early November 29th, 1999 the Palestinian Intelligence Forces arrested Dr. Afif Sulaiman from Nablus and that members of the Palestinian Intelligence Forces raided Dr. Abdel Sitar Qasem 's house last evening and searched and confiscated documents and papers. Furthermore, Bassam Shaka'a, former mayor of Nablus, who survived an assassination attempt by Jewish extremists in 1980, who blew up his car which lead to the amputation of both of his feet, and Waheed Alhamdallah, former mayor of Anabta, were ordered under house arrest beginning November 28th, 1999, by PA Brig. General Ghazi al-Jabali. The campaign of arrests of Palestinian citizens on the grounds of their political opinion, regardless of the content of such opinions, is a severe violation of their rights of freedom of opinion and expression. These rights are guaranteed by international conventions, especially article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the Covenant of Civil and Political Rights, to which the PNA has formally acceded. Such violations contradict the PNA's stated commitment to adhere to human rights standard. Such adherence requires the translation of these commitments to practices compatible with human rights standards. These arrests contradict this principled position by the PNA, and reflect the absence of respect for human rights and freedoms and the lack of a legal framework, which guarantees the binding nature of these rights. Until these rights are guaranteed by a constitution, al-Haq sees the necessity of the publication of a temporary document by the PNA incorporating these basic principles and regulating the contents of the human rights and freedoms of Palestinians as well as the lines of jurisdiction of the three authorities in the PA. Al-Haq demands: 1. The Palestinian
National Authority release the nine arrested persons immediately
and lift the house arrest of Bassam Shaka'a and Waheed Alhamdallah. |
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A cry from the home land We feel sorry towards what's happening on the saint soil of Palestine of hurrying to lose the dignity of the people and giving up its rights. And we as ordinary citizens, were provoked by our national allegiances for the sake of working together as one heart to correct the deteriorating situations we reached to. The Palestinian leadership promised after Oslo a Palestinian state with Jerusalem being the Capital of it, the return of refugees, the demolishing of settlements, the release of prisoners, and the preparation for an economic revival that will lead Palestine to be the Singapore of the whole region. Some of us were deceived and celebrated in the streets these claimed victories. But, after six years of Oslo, we see more land confiscation, the building of more settlements beside enlarging the existing ones and the continuous conspiracy over the case of refugees which is accelerating rapidly behind the scenes and the doors of jails are still looking behind our sons and daughters. Neither Jerusalem nor Singapore was reached; the people were divided into two sections. Small one that rules and steels and a larger one that complains and looking for a survivor. This is a terrifying scenario of the misleading and lies on the people that will have a more sounding and criminal effects in the final settlement negotiations. On top of that, the Palestinian Authority has followed a systematic methodology of corruption, humiliation and abuse. As if the Oslo agreement was a trade of the homeland for the richness of some corrupted people. The president of the PNA has opened the doors widely for some opportunist to spread corruption in the Palestinian community. The economic status has deteriorated, the communal relations had weakened and the moral standards have demolished, and many health educational and judiciary institutions have been destroyed. The alarm bell is toning in every city, village, refugee camp, and every bend and corner, even in every shop, house and office. The homeland is being let down and destroyed. Lets stand together against this tyranny and corruption The injustice can't be stopped unless by collective arms of the oppressed. And the oppressor can't be stopped unless by the hard stains of faith. Dr. Abdulsattar
Qassem |
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