Press release

May 23, 2005

Corruption in Palestine under the shadow of the new PA

Although President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu-Mazen) has taken new security measures and made reforms aimed at establishing and improving security in the Palestinian territories, it is still a matter of concern. Civilians in the Palestinian territories are still suffering from corruption and lack of safety and security. Many incidents of corruption have occurred causing tension and confusion in the Palestinian streets. The situation is worsened by the negligence of the authority, which fails to follow up on these shameful incidences and hold the responsible persons accountable.

Many incidents, which can only be described as ‘Corruption’, have occurred after the new Palestinian Authority was elected:

1- On 14/1/2005 al-Risala Newspaper office in Gaza, a weekly newspaper published by Al-Khalas Islamic group (Salvation Group), was attacked by unidentified persons who fired gunshots and threw a handmade bomb on the newspaper office which caused major damages. This act is considered to be against freedom of speech.

2- On 10/2/2005 an armed attack was committed against the Central Prison in Gaza City which led to the death of three prisoners. Two similar acts took place within 6 months, reflecting a negative picture of the people in charge. The attacks reveal their negligence in protecting prisoners against those who believe that they are above the law and who believe that they can accomplish anything by force and not by law.

3- Election processes were disrupted by groups of armed men on several occasions and locations using the threat of weapons, including the elections at the Youth Club of Balata on 1/4/2005, the local elections of Attara village/Ramallah in 5/5/2005, the elections of Bitonia/ Ramallah Club on 13/5/2005, in addition to the attack launched by nine armed men on the office of the Central Election Commission (CEC) in Deir al-Balah/Gaza on 8/5/2005. The group forced the CEC to close election registration centers in the central Gaza Strip. Such acts violate the right of electoral freedom and violate the Palestinians’ right to choose their representatives.

4- On 12/3/2005 thousands of unemployed workers attacked the Legislative Council in Gaza contesting the deteriorated living conditions and the lack of work opportunities throughout the past four years.

5- On 8/4/2005 an armed man shot a woman and her fiancé in Gaza which lead to the woman’s death.

6- Many violent acts were committed against governmental hospitals and staffs of doctors and nurses. On 12/4/2005 a group of armed men, working for the general intelligence system, attacked Ramallah Hospital and hit a number of doctors and nurses and destroyed governmental property and medical devices.

Other similar incidents occurred on 8/3/2005 when the head of nursing department and others in the Palestinian Nursing College in Khan- Younes/Gaza were attacked.

7- On 14/4/2005 a group of unidentified armed men fired shots towards Mr. Ahmad al-Batsh’s house and car in Beir Nabala near Ramallah. Mr. al-Batsh is a member of the Legislative Council of Jerusalem. Similarly, on 15/2/2005 the house of the governor of Gaza City, Mr. Bsesso, was attacked, and on 5/3/2005 the house of Palestinian Minister Jameel al-Tareefi was also attacked.

8- On 2/5/2005 a group of family members attacked a judge and the ruling committee while judging three men who were accused of murder in Central Prison in Gaza.

These and many other incidents of corruption took place and even extended to attacking schools and teaching faculties, honor killings, stealing private property. Even the Palestinian Cellular Telecom Corporation ‘Jawwal’ in Hebron was not excluded from the acts of corruption.

Since Mr. Mahmoud Abbas became President, 36 Palestinians were killed by other Palestinians. Among them, 18 were killed by gunfire, 6 by stabbing, 2 by beating, 4 honor killings and 6 suspected for collaborating with Israel. On the other hand, in that same period of time, the Israeli soldiers killed 63 Palestinians in the Occupied Territories.

PHRMG strongly condemns these crimes and reiterates its call for the PA to immediately act to confront the misuse of weapons in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, which threatens the safety and security of Palestinian civilians.

PHRMG believes that the real first step which should be taken to accomplish security begins with the Palestinian Authority itself. The Palestinian Authority should start taking serious measures to question and punish those who are responsible for corruption and violation of law and should start prosecuting those who think they are above the law.

The Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group (PHRMG) is a Palestinian, independent, non-governmental organization working to end human rights violations committed against Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem, regardless of those responsible.  The members of the Monitoring Group believe that the strength of democracy and civil society in Palestinian society will be determined by the Palestinian people, through their defense or neglect of human rights.

Ragheb Nashashibi Street 5

Sheikh Jarrah-Jerusalem

P.O. Box 19918

East Jerusalem 91198

www.phrmg.org

tel. 972-2-582-3372/3

fax. 972-2-582-3385