Violence among the Palestinians

Humanist, Jan-Feb, 2003 by Erika Waak

Prisoners

Based on testimonies gathered by human rights organizations, it appears that alleged collaborators are almost invariably tortured, especially during the first phase of the interrogation. The December 1997 issue of the Palestinian Human Rights Monitor reported on eighteen people who died in custody, most of them seem to have been accused of collaboration. The data at that time showed a total of twenty-three deaths in custody since the establishment of the PA, including two cases in 1998, two in 1999, and one by July 2000. In the majority of these instances, death occurred in the first weeks of detention and, of the twenty-three cases, at least twelve clearly concerned alleged collaboration or land dealing. The PA's reasons for detaining the accused are often difficult to determine, however, due to the absence of any official charges. But two possible conclusions can be derived based on the number of alleged collaborators among the cases of deaths in custody: either collaborators are more vulnerable to harsh treatment by the security services or collaboration is a handy label to make death in custody "acceptable" to both the public and the authorities.

By 2001 the PA hadn't released autopsy reports in twenty-one cases of deaths in custody which had occurred in previous years. In the majority of these cases, no independent autopsies were performed to determine the cause of death. And the PA hasn't made the results of its own investigations public, nor has it pursued criminal actions against those responsible. There are strong feelings on the street about those who have been imprisoned, and Palestinian citizens have even broken into the jails to free victims. According to the Human Rights Watch report, "The practice of incommunicado detention exacerbates the routine use of torture. Detainees are frequently subjected to "shabah" (prolonged sitting or standing in painful positions); "falaqa" (beating on the soles of the feet); punching; kicking; and suspension from the wrists."

Extra-Judicial Trials

Most Palestinians are arrested without charge or trial, and if they are given a trial it usually lasts a very short period of time, typically less than one hour. Rosenbluth said, "It's impossible to say if someone is wrongly accused. The PA offers very little evidence when arresting Palestinian citizens." The proceedings give no legal rights to the accused, who is always pronounced guilty. During most of the trials that include criminal or collaborative cases, the alleged collaborator's punishment is carried out extra-judicially and those who are prosecuted are guilty until proven innocent. Freedom House's survey says:

   Palestinian judges lack proper training and experience ... and [defendants]
   lack almost all due process rights. Suspected Islamic militants are rounded
   up en masse and often held without charge or trial. There are reportedly
   hundreds of administrative detainees currently in Palestinian jails and
   detention centers. Defendants are not granted the right to appeal sentences
   and are often summarily tried and sentenced to death.