Palestinian Intelligence Services Carry out Arrest Campaign in Hebron, Including Attacking and Harassing a PLC Member's Son

 The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) condemns the continued arrest campaigns and illegal detentions of members of Hamas by Palestinian security services in the West Bank.  The latest arrest campaign was carried out on 24 July 2010 in Shyoukh village, northeast of Hebron, during which eleven persons, most of them members of one extended family, were arrested.  Personal belongings were confiscated in one of the houses. The son of Ms. Samira Halayqa, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), was violently beaten and taken from her by force as security services arrested him, his brother and some of his cousins.  PCHR reiterates its call upon the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and security services to stop all arbitrary arrests, to promptly release all political detainees, and to completely stop all political arrests.

 According to investigations of PCHR and the testimony of PLC Member Samira Abdullah Abdul Rahim Halayqa, 46, at approximately 01:20 on Saturday, 24 July 2010, a Palestinian security force comprised of approximately fifteen vehicles moved into Shyoukh village, northeast of Hebron.  The security force, some of whom were masked and all of whom who were heavily armed, surrounded several houses, including houses belonging to Halayqa's extended family in the "Qufan Khamis" quarter in the southeast of the village.  They broke into the houses and arrested Halayqa's eldest son, Anas Mohammed Halayqa, 24, in front of the house.  As soon as her youngest son, Osama, 20, became aware of the situation, he left his uncle's house, where he had gone to investigate after the house had been attacked. Upon witnessing his brother's arrest, Osama called for the members of the security force to release his brother.  As a result, a large number of the security force attacked and violently beat him with gun butts and kicked him all over his body, all this occurring in front of his mother and many members of the family.  In the meanwhile, the Palestinian force opened fire into the air.

 Ms. Halayqa stated that when she intervened to hug Osama and protect him from beating, the force members continued beating and pulling him into the vehicles by force.  Members of the security force pulled the mother away from her son by force, and pushed him into a black vehicle, continuing to beat him.  When Ms. Halayqa introduced herself and inquired about the identity of the security force, one of the officers wearing civilian clothes told her that they are members of the Palestinian Intelligence Service (GIS) and they were on duty.

Ms. Halayqa added that the force raided nine other houses in different areas of the village in this violent manner and without any legal warrants or respect for the residents.  They arrested nine persons, most of whom are related, as well as her two sons.  Thos detained were transported to GIS's detention centers in Hebron.  Ms. Halayqa also stated that the security force confiscated a computer and some valuables from the house belonging to Watani Merhej Halayqa during their raid.

 

The detainees are:

1)    Anas Mohammed Zaitoun Halayqa, 24, a student at Hebron University;

2)    Osama Mohammed Zaitoun Halayqa, 20, a student at al-Quds Open University;

3)    Watani Merhej Zaitoun Halayqa, 29, a worker;

4)    Yusuf Ahmed Yusuf Halayqa, 27, a worker;

5)    Abdul Karim Hussein Halayqa, 55, an Imam of a mosque;

6)    Mahmoud Abed Mousa Warasna, 32, a taxi driver;

7)    Mohammed Ali Sleem Halayqa, 39, a teacher;

8)    Mohammed Mahmoud 'Isa Halayqa, 29, a teacher who was arbitrarily dismissed from his job;

9)    Rezeq Mahmoud 'Assi Halayqa, 43, a teacher who was arbitrarily dismissed from his job;

10) Mohammed Suleiman Dawood Halayqa, 52, an owner of a factory of bricks; and

11) Adeeb Yusuf 'Oda Halayqa, 38, a worker.

 

It should be noted that, in the past two weeks, the GIS and Preventive Security Service (PSS) arrested a number of Palestinians in different areas in Hebron, including Mohammed Isam'il Qabaja, 65, from Tarqumia village southeast of Hebron, whose son had been detained by the GIS; and Morad Badr Shaheen, 35, who had been released from the Israeli jails just a week before his detention by PSS.

 

PCHR reiterates it condemnation of political detention and the accompanying practice of torture against the detainees, and:

 

1.    Reminds of the Palestinian Supreme Court of the Justice ruling on 20 February 1999, which considers political detention illegal and demands all executive bodies to respect the Court ruling and refrain from practicing political detention;

2.    Emphasizes that detention is governed by the Palestinian law and falls within the competence of judicial warranty officers, represented by the police, under direct supervision of the Attorney-General; and

3.    Calls for the immediate release of all political detainees who are held by Palestinian security services in the West Bank.