4 April 1996

LAWE WELCOMES MEASURES, BUT CALLS FOR CURBING OF POLICE VIOLENCE

Land and Water Establishment

PO Box 20873

Jerusalem

Tel: (972) (2) 812364/824559

Fax: (972) (2) 811072

email: lawe@netvision.net.il

Land and Water Establishment welcomes the measures taken by President Arafat in response to the violent police raid on An Najah University in Nablus on 31 March.

On 2 April, President Arafat announced the following measures:

• That the police will recognize the sanctity of universities;
• That an investigation will be made into the incident;
• That Colonel Ala Hosni, director of the Nablus police, will be transferred from Nablus to Gaza until the investigation is finished;
• That President Arafat will create a special guard to protect universities, in coordination with university administrations.

While LAWE welcomes these moves, LAWE believes that more widespread measures must be adopted. LAWE calls for the Palestinian Authority to publish the findings of its investigation into the incident at An Najah University, and for greater transparency generally into the functioning of the police and the government. Also there is a need for clear legal guidelines for police action, to avoid the unnecessary violence that has taken place in the last week.

Lastly LAWE would like to point out that the incident at An Najah University was just one of a series of human rights violations on the part of the Palestinian Authority. Most of those arrested during the politically motivated mass arrests over the past month remain in prison without charge or trial, and measures have not been taken to improve conditions inside the prisons. Therefore LAWE calls again on the Palestinian Authority to respect international conventions and basic human rights, to release all political prisoners, to stop arresting political activists without charge, to improve conditions and access to medical care in the prisons, to bring charges and arrange for trial for those already arrested, to release the relatives of wanted activists and to desist from taking hostages, to follow proper legal procedures during arrest and to open the prisons for inspection.

Land and Water Establishment is a Palestinian NGO, dedicated to defending human rights through legal advocacy. LAWE is also the West Bank affiliate of the Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights.