Human Rights Watch hits PA, Hamas for 'zero dissent'

Human Rights Watch said, Tuesday, that the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority in Judea and Samaria and Hamas in Gaza "have established machineries of repression to crush dissent, including through the use of torture."

Summarizing a two-year investigation, the organization said the two bodies "have in recent years carried out scores of arbitrary arrests for peaceful criticism of the authorities, particularly on social media, among independent journalists, on university campuses, and at demonstrations. As the Fatah-Hamas feud deepened despite attempts at reconciliation, PA security services have targeted supporters of Hamas and vice versa. Relying primarily on overly broad laws that criminalize activity such as causing 'sectarian strife' or insulting 'higher authorities,' the PA and Hamas use detention to punish critics and deter them and others from further activism. In detention, security forces routinely taunt, threaten, beat, and force detainees into painful stress positions for hours at a time."