PA police officer (file)
PA police officer (file)Flash 90

A recent report from January, which the media has kept a tight lip on, has exposed the widespread human rights abuses of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Hamas in Judea, Samaria and Gaza.

The report, from the Palestinian Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR), charges PA and Hamas for repeated cases of torture, oppression, assaults on freedom of expression and academic freedoms, as well as ignoring court orders.

In January alone the report notes ten Arab residents of Judea, Samaria and Gaza were killed through "anarchy, lawlessness and misuse of weapons," reports Mosaic Magazine.

In the same month, ICHR reports receiving 56 complaints of torture and abuse in prisons, 36 of them from Gaza and 19 in PA-controlled Judea and Samaria.

85 complaints were received in January of unlawful arrests and unlawful seizing of money, with a large number arguing they were thrown in jail for "politically-motivated" charges.

While the PA apparently has no problem arresting its constituents on trumped up charges, it has lauded terrorist murderers jailed in Israel as "heroes," and last week allocated an extra $46 million to give released terrorists a bonus despite being in a debt crisis of $4.6 billion as of last July.

The report detailed several particular cases of police brutality, such as an incident on January 12 in which PA police used excessive force to break up a protest of youth north of Ramallah, beating them with clubs and lobbing stun grenades at them. 60-70 of the protesters were wounded in the head and legs.

In another case on January 28, a PA policeman opened fire with live ammunition to scatter rock-throwers in Ramallah, despite there being no need according to the report. Later four protesters were wounded after police assaulted them with clubs.

On the other extreme, anarchy and lawlessness was exposed as endemic under the PA. On January 18, over 100 men attacked the Yatta municipality building near Hevron, using a bulldozer to break in. Mayor Musa Makhamarah said the attackers were relatives or friends of a municipal council member who was led off, and that no police were dispatched despite the mayor's warnings to the PA in advance.

It is worth noting that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu suggested the idea of having Jews live under the PA in Judea and Samaria. President Shimon Peres latched onto the idea and attempted to defend it, saying "what's this fear that's struck us suddenly? They'll kill Jews? Today?"