Amnesty accuses Hamas, Fatah of rights abuses

MIDDLE EAST:Amnesty International yesterday issued a report sharply critical of Hamas and Fatah for violating Palestinian human rights.

The 58-page report, Occupied Palestinian Territories: Torn Apart By Factional Strife, states: "Unprecedented levels of political violence between Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip during the past year . . . took a heavy toll on the civilian population and compounded the devastating impact of Israeli occupation and military campaigns, causing a further deterioration in living conditions and prompting greater international isolation."

Amnesty says 350 people were killed and 2,000 wounded, many of them civilians, in inter-factional fighting during the first half of 2007.

Fatah and Hamas security forces and militias committed "grave human rights abuses and displayed a flagrant disregard for the safety of the civilian population", the organisation says. Both sides killed captives and kidnapped members of rival groups, engaged in street battles imprisoning civilians in their homes, and mounted roadblocks restricting civilian movement and endangering lives.

Amnesty castigates Hamas for its violent takeover of the Gaza Strip in June and accuses Hamas security forces and militia of continuing to target Fatah activists and suppressing dissent.

The organisation condemns Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas's decision to suspend operations of the police and civil administration and pay salaries only to those who do not report for work. This has created an "institutional vacuum", says Amnesty.

Fatah-dominated West Bank security forces and militiamen attack and abduct Hamas members and supporters. Both factions arrest people and torture detainees.

While Hamas releases captives within a short time, Fatah-led security forces, which enjoy the support of Israel and the US, have imprisoned 1,000 West Bankers without trial while they have failed to punish Fatah militiamen guilty of murder, hostage-taking, arson and racketeering.

Addressing the international community, the organisation recommends a halt to all arms deliveries to both parties until "guarantees can be secured that such equipment will not be used to violate human rights and international humanitarian law".

Amnesty says emergency assistance should not be used to "further political goals" or punish Gazans living under de facto Hamas rule and asks the international community to "ensure that Israel, as the Occupying Power, fulfils its obligation to provide for the protection and welfare of the Palestinian population and refrains from imposing sanctions which violate their human rights".