Palestinian security forces unleash wave of abuses: rights group

0 Comments | AFP, July, 2008

NEW YORK (AFP) — Security forces on both sides of the internal Palestinian conflict have unleashed a wave of illegal arrests and torture, a leading rights group said Wednesday.

Human Rights Watch (HRW), based in New York, said in a report that forces run by Hamas and its rival Fatah were committing "serious abuses."

"The political fight between Hamas and Fatah is claiming more and more victims of serious human rights violations every day," said Joe Stork, HRW's deputy director for the Middle East.

The rights organization called on international backers of Hamas and Fatah to condition support, including financial aid, on the Palestinians taking "concrete and verifiable steps to end serious human rights abuses."

According to HRW, Hamas forces in Gaza...