Palestinians in Gaza and West Bank Suffer From Factional Strife
Hamas forces in Gaza and Fatah forces in the West Bank have carried out a wave of unlawful arrests against opponents in recent days, Human Rights Watch said today. In Gaza, Hamas forces physically abused some of the people they apprehended and closed roughly 100 organizations they consider allied with Fatah....
Berlin Conference Chance to Improve Rights
Donors to Palestinian security forces in the West Bank should condition their aid on concrete efforts to end serious abuses by all forces, Human Rights Watch said today. When providing security aid and training, donors should require the Ramallah authorities to build law enforcement institutions that are transparent, accountable and in compliance with international human rights standards....
The United States should promptly call on Israel to end its blanket ban preventing hundreds of Palestinian students from leaving the Gaza Strip to study abroad, Human Rights Watch and two North American scholarly organizations said today....
Hamas Has Duty to Prosecute Serious Abuses
Hamas authorities in Gaza should investigate the recent abduction and apparent torture of three men by the armed wing of Islamic Jihad, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities should hold accountable any individuals responsible for serious abuses....
President George W. Bush should urge Israel to reverse its strict closure policy towards the Gaza Strip, three human rights groups said in a letter to the US president today (http://hrw.org/english/docs/2008/05/12/isrlpa18808.htm). Human Rights Watch and two Israeli human rights groups, Gisha Legal Center for Freedom of Movement and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, called on Bush to dissociate the United States from the closure policy, which is causing grave harm to Gaza’s civilian population....
Military-Only Investigations Into Civilian Deaths Inadequate
The Israeli government should go beyond a military “field investigation” and conduct an impartial and thorough probe into the tank shelling that killed a Reuters cameraman and three other civilians in Gaza on April 16, Human Rights Watch said today....
Evidence Suggests Soldiers Targeted Reuters Journalist
The Israeli government should conduct an immediate and independent investigation into the deaths of four civilians, including a Reuters cameraman and two teenage boys, in Gaza on April 16, 2008, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch’s investigations at the site found evidence suggesting that an Israeli tank crew fired recklessly or deliberately at the journalist’s team....
Implement Recommendations of Legislative Commission
The Palestinian Authority should promptly implement the recommendations of the Palestinian Legislative Council’s investigation into the recent torture and death in custody of Majid al-Barghuti, Human Rights Watch said today. The Palestinian Authority should hold accountable members of the security services who violated Palestinian or international law in his death....
Stop Demolishing Homes, Remedy Discriminatory Land Allocation
Israel should declare an immediate moratorium on demolitions of Bedouin homes and create an independent commission to investigate pervasive land and housing discrimination against its Bedouin citizens in the Negev, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today....
Fatal Hamas Rocket Strikes Violate Laws of War
Indiscriminate rocket attacks by the Palestinian group Hamas against civilian areas in Israel, including one that killed an Israeli man on February 27, are serious violations of international humanitarian law, Human Rights Watch said....
Attacks in Lebanon Violated Laws of War
The human devastation inflicted on Lebanon by Israel’s illegal use of cluster munitions highlights the urgent need for an international treaty banning the weapon, Human Rights Watch said in releasing a report today. At a conference this week, more than 100 states will discuss a treaty to ban cluster munitions, a process prompted in part by Israel’s cluster attacks on Lebanon in 2006....
Attacks by Palestinian Armed Groups No Excuse for Collective Punishment
Israel’s cuts of fuel and electricity to Gaza, set to escalate today, amount to collective punishment of the civilian population, and violate Israel’s obligations under the laws of war, Human Rights Watch said today....
Indiscriminate Palestinian Rocket Attacks Violate International Law
This week’s Gaza-Egypt border breach temporarily eased the humanitarian impact of Israel’s blockade, but Israel as the occupying power remains responsible for the well-being of Gaza’s 1.4 million residents, Human Rights Watch said today. Gazans remain almost completely dependent on Israel for fuel, electricity, medicine, food, and other essential commodities....
Egypt, Palestinian Authority and Hamas Share Blame
The Israeli government is arbitrarily blocking some 670 students in Gaza from pursuing higher education abroad, Human Rights Watch said today. Israel is denying exit permits that the young men and women need to leave Gaza for university programs in countries such as Egypt, Jordan, Germany, Britain, and the United States....
Seven Killed, Over 90 Wounded by Excessive, Indiscriminate Force
The Hamas-run government in Gaza must establish an independent and nonpartisan commission of inquiry to hold security forces accountable for their use of excessive and indiscriminate force against pro-Fatah demonstrators in Gaza City on Monday, Human Rights Watch said today. More than 90 demonstrators were wounded and seven lost their lives when Hamas security forces opened fire....
Civilians Should Not Be Penalized for Rocket Attacks by Armed Groups
Israel’s decision to limit fuel and electricity to the Gaza Strip in retaliation for unlawful rocket attacks by armed groups amounts to collective punishment against the civilian population of Gaza, in violation of international law, and will worsen the humanitarian crisis there, Human Rights Watch said today....
Denials, Delays Cause at Least Three Deaths
Israel is arbitrarily blocking, delaying and harassing people with emergency medical problems who need to leave the Gaza Strip for urgent care, Human Rights Watch said today. At least three patients denied exit permits have died since June, and others have lost limbs or sight due to injuries and disease that have gone without proper treatment....
Rocket Attacks Cannot Justify Collective Punishment
Israel’s threat to impose additional sanctions on the Gaza Strip would constitute unlawful collective punishment of Gaza’s civilian population, Human Rights Watch said today. The Israeli government has proposed further reducing supplies of fuel and electricity to the Gaza Strip and increasing its restrictions on the movement of goods and people in and out of the territory....
No Evidence of Widespread Hezbollah ‘Shielding’
Israel’s indiscriminate airstrikes, not Hezbollah’s shielding as claimed by Israeli officials, caused most of the approximately 900 civilian deaths in Lebanon during the July-August 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Human Rights Watch investigated more than 500 of the deaths....
Tank Fire Kills 5 Children in Gaza; 15-year-old Reported Arrested Bearing Explosives
Israeli security forces and Palestinian armed groups continue to endanger children and should immediately halt practices risking children’s lives, Human Rights Watch said today....
Unknown Fate Awaits Sudanese Fleeing From Darfur
Israel should stop summarily expelling Sudanese nationals who enter the country illegally from Egypt and reinstate its policy of allowing them to remain in Israel pending refugee status determination, Human Rights Watch said today. Egypt’s official refusal to accept them combined with recent allegations of mistreatment by border guards suggests that Sudanese returnees are likely to be treated harshly and with no guarantees that they would not be returned to persecution....
One year after the Israel-Hezbollah war began, serious violations of the laws of war by both sides in the conflict remain unpunished, Human Rights Watch said today....
Armed groups in Gaza and Lebanon should immediately release the three Israeli soldiers held as hostages since last summer, Human Rights Watch said today. Israel should also release Hamas legislators and ministers apparently taken in reprisal....
Neither Defense Nor Retaliation Is Justification
Palestinian rocket attacks on Israeli towns and Israeli artillery strikes near populated areas in northern Gaza have caused hundreds of civilian casualties since September 2005 and constitute serious violations of the laws of war, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today....
Fatah, Hamas Responsible for Civilians in Their Custody
The two rival Palestinian political factions, Fatah and Hamas, should treat civilians in their custody humanely, and ensure that no further summary executions take place, Human Rights Watch said today....
Fighters Execute Captives, Attack Hospital, Put Journalists at Serious Risk
During recent fighting in the Gaza Strip, armed Palestinian groups have committed serious violations of international humanitarian law, in some cases amounting to war crimes, Human Rights Watch said today....