Wave of 'political' West Bank arrests

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Many pro-Fatah Palestinian police were chased out of Gaza last year By Ahmad Budeiri BBC Arabic Service, Ramallah

When the militant Hamas movement violently seized control of the Gaza Strip in June 2007, the Gaza-based leadership of the Palestinian security services fled to the West Bank, which is still controlled by Fatah.

Since that time the West Bank has seen a sharp rise in the number of political arrests.

Human rights groups say the arrests take place on a daily basis and the vast majority of detainees are held for political rather than legitimate security reasons.

Ten days ago, security services under the control of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas stormed the house of Hamas activist Abdul Jabbar Jabbar in Jenin and arrested him along with his son Hudhayfa.

It was the sixth time Mr Jabbar Snr, a teacher of Islamic law, had been arrested. Hudhayfa was subsequently released but his father remains in custody.

Hudhayfa Jabbar was arrested with his father, an Islamic law teacher"When they came to our house they said my father was from Hamas, and they were going to weed Hamas out of the West Bank, just as Fatah had been removed from Gaza," Hudhayfa Jabbar told the BBC.

"When we were taken to the military headquarters they beat my father until blood flowed from his mouth and nose, some hit him really viciously. It was humiliating because I was so powerless to help him."

Mr Jabbar also says his father was subjected to a process called Shabh, "the ghost", being tied up for long periods so as to cause severe pain, especially in the hands and back.

After 10 hours he had to be taken to hospital, where he was given treatment for a cardiac condition.

Hamas 'plan'

Palestinian police officials deny there are any "political" detainees in their jails.

"What is happening is the arrest of people engaged in unlawful acts," police chief Maj Gen Hazem Atallah told the BBC.

We have heard about many cases, but when we investigated we found them to be untrue exaggerations Police chief Maj Gen Hazem Atallah "Anyone who has any connection with arms and explosives will face this kind of action"

Ramallah-based Maj Gen Atallah and other security service leaders say Hamas is seeking to exert control over the West Bank and some of the detainees are members of Hamas's armed organisation known as the Executive Force.

Israel views the actions of the Palestinian Authority as key to implementing its obligations under the US-sponsored peace plan known as the roadmap.

Domestic intelligence chief Yuval Diskin recently described security cooperation with the West Bank authorities "excellent, especially in combating terrorism" as well as shutting down 60 institutions connected to Hamas.

'Illegal arrests'

Human rights campaigners say the majority of Hamas detainees in the West Bank have no relationship to the military branch of the organisation or its fundraising activities.

"In the last two months we have noticed a large-scale campaign in the West Bank to prosecute persons said to be from the Hamas movement," says Shawan Jabarin of the Palestinian human rights organisation al-Haq.

"It happens on a daily basis," he adds, saying that the figure of about 270 political detainees believed to be held in the the West Bank outstrips the figure in Gaza, which stands at 80.

Arrests are based on military justice authorised by presidential decreeAl-Haq says court orders to release civilian detainees tried illegally by military courts have been ignored by the intelligence services.

Palestinian journalists meanwhile say they cannot give proper attention to the issue because they themselves would face similar treatment.

"We would be arrested immediately an article was published, or even before," said one journalist from a prominent daily who asked to remain anonymous.

Hamas activists in the West Bank whom we contacted refused to speak on the record because of threats they said they had received from the security services.

Hudhayfa Jabbar said he had been warned not to talk because it would reflect negatively on his father, the implication being he would face further torture and abuse.

"Physical torture is practised with the utmost severity in Jneid prison [where Abdul Jabbar is being held]," Shawan Jabarin said.

Jneid, formerly an Israeli prison, was transferred to the control of the Palestinian Authority in the mid-1990s, and there are many allegations of beatings, humiliating treatment, sleep deprivation and prisoners being subjected to "the ghost".

Palestinian police chief Maj Gen Atallah said reports of the problem were usually exaggerated.

"We have heard about many cases, but when we investigated we found them to be untrue. The general policy is to prevent torture, though if there have been some aberrations we condemn them," he told the BBC.

Last month, Palestinian human rights groups and parliamentarians established a committee to monitor political detentions, but its work never got off the ground.

Although the body had the blessing of Mahmoud Abbas himself, the security services which he controls refused to cooperate.