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Last update - 00:00 28/07/2008
Rights groups say torture widespread in Palestinian jails
By The Associated Press
Tags: Hamas, Israel, Gaza Strip 

Two human rights groups on Monday decried widespread torture of political opponents by bitter Palestinian rivals Hamas and Fatah. Interviews with three victims and a doctor backed the reports of abuse.

One detainee told of being beaten with pipes and having a
screwdriver rammed into his back. Another said he was pulled off the ground by a rope attached to hands tied behind his back.
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The findings emerged as rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas carried out fresh arrest sweeps in the West Bank and Gaza - highlighting deep tensions in the Palestinian territories after a flare-up in violence over the weekend.

In the West Bank on Monday, the security forces of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas rounded up more than 50 suspected Hamas supporters, including mosque preachers and intellectuals, in retaliation for a similar sweep of Fatah loyalists in Gaza, set off by a bombing that killed five Hamas members on Friday.

Hamas violently seized power in Gaza in June 2007, leaving the Islamic militant group in charge of the Strip and Abbas' forces controlling only the West Bank.

The Palestinian human rights group Al Haq said Monday that arbitrary arrests of political opponents have been common since Hamas' takeover of Gaza, with each side trying to defend its turf.

"Arrests for political reasons haven't stopped for a second," Al Haq director Shawan Jabarin told a news conference. He estimated that before the latest sweeps, more than 1,000 people had been seized by each side.

An estimated 20 to 30 percent of the detainees suffered torture, including severe beatings and being tied up in painful positions, said Jabarin, citing sworn statements from 150 detainees.

He said three died in detention in Gaza and one in the West Bank.

"The use of torture is dramatically up," added Fred Abrahams, a senior researcher for Human Rights Watch, a U.S.-based group that is releasing its own report on abuse later this week.

Jabarin said that while he had no proof of an official torture policy, he believed that political leaders were indirectly encouraging abuse by looking the other way.

Abbas' prime minister, Salam Fayyad, acknowledged shortcomings, but said human rights violations have decreased. "I'm not defending anyone, but I can assure you that we have treated flaws and don't allow violations. The upcoming reports will be better," Fayyad said.

In Gaza, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum accused the Fayyad government of trying to destroy Hamas in the West Bank with U.S. backing. Barhoum acknowledged mistakes were made by the Hamas forces, but said that unlike in the West Bank, violators were increasingly being punished.

Human Rights Watch said Abbas' forces need to come under closer scrutiny because of the massive international support they enjoy.

Funding of Abbas' forces should be linked to an improvement in the human rights record, Human Rights Watch said.

Two branches of the Palestinian security, the national forces and the civil police, receive training from the U.S. and Europe, respectively. Neither force was cited in the Al Haq report as being abusive, and in both cases, human rights training is part of the curriculum.

The Palestinians themselves are looking to restructure the security force into a more accountable, transparent force, said Colin Smith, who leads the European effort.

However, on the streets, spiraling Hamas-Fatah tensions are setting the tone. The latest round began Friday evening, when a car bomb killed five Hamas members and a 6-year-old girl in Gaza. Hamas blamed Fatah, which denied involvement, and rounded up some 200 Fatah supporters.

On Monday, Fatah struck back. Abbas' forces set up roadblocks across the West Bank city of Nablus, checking motorists' names against lists of wanted people. Intellectual Abdel Sattar Qassem, a frequent Abbas critic, was taken from his home, his family said.

Nathera al-Qouni stood outside Nablus' Jneid prison, waiting to hand clothes to her 35-year-old son Mustafa al-Qouni, who was arrested at a checkpoint. He is not Hamas, he is just a mosque preacher, she said.

Al Haq described a series of methods used by interrogators in both territories. Commonly, detainees' heads are covered by sacks and their hands tied behind their backs. They are made to stand for long hours. Those who move risked beatings on arms, legs and the soles of feet. Other methods included threats, humiliation and isolation in tiny cells.

Three ex-detainees - two from the West Bank village of Salem and one from Gaza - gave similar accounts to AP.

Jabour, a 33-year-old construction worker, said he was detained on November 17 by Military Intelligence in Nablus, near Salem. He said he was asked where he had hidden the automatic rifle of his late brother, a member of the Hamas military wing killed by Israel in 2002.

Jabour insisted he had no ties to Hamas and did not know of a weapon.

He said that for the next six days, he was beaten severely with sticks, pipes and fists, including on the soles of his feet. His legs became so swollen and his feet so sore that he couldn't stand up, he said.

Jabour said he was taken to Nablus' Rafidiyeh Hospital after an interrogator rammed a screwdriver into his back, making him pass out.

Dr. Marwan Jayousi, who examined Jabour at the hospital, told AP that the patient's legs were heavily bruised and very swollen at the time.

"There were a lot of marks of beatings by sticks, on his back, on his scapula, shoulders, and it was painful," the physician said.Jabour was eventually released several days later, without charges.

Hosni Jabara, 50, also from Salem, said he was arrested by the Preventive Security Service in Nablus on January 28, and was tied up in painful positions off and on for 32 days.

At times, he was pulled off the ground by a rope hanging from the ceiling and attached to his hands tied behind his back, Jabara said. He said he told his interrogators he's a proud member of Hamas, but that he has no knowledge of weapons, and he eventually was released.

In Gaza, a Fatah supporter said he was beaten severely by Hamas agents for several hours, until he lost consciousness and had blood streaming down his face. After initially agreeing to be quoted and photographed, he withdrew permission, saying he had received new threats from Hamas
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  1.   So much for Arab unity (not) 20:48  |  Mervin 28/07/08
  2.   Would like to know the name of these two human rights groups,and 20:50  |  lakshmi 28/07/08
  3.   lakshmi should read the article where they are listed 21:35  |  JP 28/07/08
  4.   lakshmi #2: maybe you should read the article more carefully - 21:41  |  ivo 28/07/08
  5.   lakshmi - clearly you did not read the article 21:42  |  Adrian de Klerk 28/07/08
  6.   NO, THIS IS NOT POSSIBLE!!!! 22:00  |  Brant 28/07/08
  7.   I thought there were no Arab Human rights groups 22:09  |  Labhras 28/07/08
  8.   FOR LOVELY LABHRAS 22:35  |  Brant 28/07/08
  9.   lakshmi 22:51  |  BRL 28/07/08
  10.   lakshmi`s stash 23:11  |  odles 28/07/08
  11.   Labhras 23:26  |  pepsi 28/07/08
  12.   Absent 00:01  |  Sank 29/07/08
  13.   Labarse - "WRONG"? 00:02  |  ChanahS 29/07/08
  14.   Where`s Jimmy carter,UNHRC,Amnesty International? 00:03  |  zev 29/07/08
  15.   #11 pepsi 00:03  |  Labhras 29/07/08
  16.   Objectivity 00:08  |  Dan 29/07/08
  17.   Okay I got that! Human Rights Watch,increasingly under fire from 00:43  |  lakshmi 29/07/08
  18.   Hey Nobody cares! 00:45  |  Avram 29/07/08
  19.   WHAT DID YOU EXPECT? PUMPKIN JUICE? 00:52  |  dav zee 29/07/08
  20.   Its a peek at the future 01:01  |  R`fael Moshe 29/07/08
  21.   Where is Natalie Durson when they need her... 01:57  |  Danny 29/07/08
  22.   I commend the brave Fatah and the brave Hamas - 02:41  |  17 29/07/08
  23.   And the arabs complain because a Soldier 02:52  |  Fred 29/07/08
  24.   LAKSHMI"Dr. Marwan Jayousi, who examined Jabour at the hospital" 02:58  |  PETER SM 29/07/08
  25.   arabs Torturing arabs! What a notion? 03:02  |  Avram 29/07/08
  26.   13 Chanah S. to Labhras,chanah S his post at 7 is clearly ironic! 03:03  |  lakshmi 29/07/08
  27.   Like duh! 05:08  |  Mark Lincoln 29/07/08
  28.   I Guess They Do Not Come Out Of Palestinian Jails Fat And Sassy 05:11  |  Eli 29/07/08
  29.   DOES the RED Cross visit? Conjugal visits? Does Bishop TuTu 06:43  |  PETER SM 29/07/08
  30.   Mark Lincoln # 21 Re behavior 07:32  |  Eli 29/07/08
  31.   lakshmi 07:44  |  Yosemite 29/07/08
  32.   peaceloving ,Durson 10:28  |  london 29/07/08
  33.   Idiots 12:01  |  irishman 29/07/08
  34.   Idiots 12:02  |  irishman 29/07/08
  35.   24 Peter SM,I did not say that Jabour was lying,I was simply 12:26  |  lakshmi 29/07/08
  36.   IRISHMAN the "idiots" need no training in torture 13:19  |  PETER SM 29/07/08
  37.   PETER SM- you got me there 13:42  |  irishman 29/07/08
  38.   IRISHMAN You gratuitously dish it out.Then complain - 14:05  |  PETER SM 29/07/08
  39.   Advice for terrorists 14:56  |  Walter 29/07/08
  40.   to Mervin 16:09  |  justice 29/07/08
  41.   B`Tselem - Check the Palestinian Torture Chambers 00:32  |  * BEN JABO 30/07/08
  42.   melvin#1just how you planned 01:14  |  billy jack 30/07/08
  43.   Dick Cheney must be proud! 01:38  |  W 31/07/08
  44.   #17 lakshmi - Pakistan & India may not be ruling 15:56  |  * BEN JABO 31/07/08
  45.   #44 Lakshmi - you weren`t at all considerate 04:43  |  * BEN JABO 01/08/08
  46.   alright #44 some facts for you 20:25  |  Proud Kafir 03/08/08
  47.   Rights groups 08:33  |  Taylor 29/01/09
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