Hamas and Fatah hammered for human rights abuses against their own people

JERUSALEM // Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip were subjected last year to an "almost systematic campaign" of human-rights abuses by their own rulers as well as by Israeli authorities, a Palestinian monitoring group has concluded.

The security forces of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Hamas carried out torture, arrests and arbitrary detentions of residents of the Palestinian territories, the Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR) said in its annual report released on Tuesday.

The targets of repression were "freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression", as well as "civil society organizations in general and human rights organizations in particular," the report said.

The ICHR's assessment, covering developments in 2010, did not directly take into account the reconciliation deal reached between Fatah and Hamas late last month. Yet in a portent of possible difficulties to come, it blames many of the abuses on the rivalry between the two Palestinian factions and their competing security agencies.

http://www.thenational.ae/news/worldwide/middle-east/hamas-and-fatah-hammered-for-human-rights-abuses-against-their-own-people

The report calls on Hamas to stop carrying out executions in its territory, and for Abbas' Fatah movement, which dominates the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, to end media censorship and cease political vetting of candidates for public sector posts.

But the group said the single factor most hampering Palestinian rights was Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories.

"Ongoing Israeli military occupation of the Palestinian territory, and its aggressive policies in the West Bank, Gaza and Jerusalem continued to constitute the major cause of the deterioration of human rights situation in the Palestinian territory during 2010," the report said.

It said that Israeli policies hampered efforts by the Palestinian Authority "to fulfil its duties and legal responsibilities in the areas under its jurisdiction, ensure safety and security to the Palestinian citizens and to impose the rule of law."

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=388575

more information on the organization reporting

http://www.ichr.ps/

What is the point of this post?

and I'll be interested in the next report which will be on a unified Palestinian which should help alleviate some of the abuses by the Palestinian parties involved

No "more complete" information, though.