Human Rights and Democracy - Official Documents

We also had concerns about the Palestinian Authority security agencies’ widespread
use of military courts for trying civilians. We made direct representations to the
Palestinian Authority about this.
Rule of law
We are concerned that Israel intends to expel a number of Palestinians, including
legislators, from their homes in East Jerusalem. Three Palestinian, Hamas-affiliated,
politicians have been living at the International Committee of the Red Cross building
in East Jerusalem since 1 July, after their Jerusalem residency was revoked. A
fourth was arrested on 30 May for illegally entering Jerusalem after his residency
was revoked. He remained in Israeli detention at the end of 2010. Forcible transfer
of people out of the city for political reasons is illegal under international
humanitarian law. The EU raised specific cases with the Israeli government, making
its views clear.
Death penalty
While the Palestinian Authority statute permits the use of the death penalty, an
informal moratorium has been in place since the end of 2009 after Palestinian
President Abbas undertook not to ratify any death penalty sentences. No death
penalty sentences were carried out by the Palestinian Authority in 2010. The
Palestinian Ministry of Justice, working closely with Palestinian legal and human
rights NGOs, is working on a new penal code. The current draft abolishes the death
penalty. The new penal code would need to be ratified by presidential decree to
become law.
However, in 2010, five people sentenced to the death penalty for various crimes
including murder and collaborating with Israel were killed by the de facto Hamas
government in Gaza. A further 10 people were sentenced to the death penalty in
Gaza during 2010, and remain on death row.
Torture and other ill treatment
Palestinian and international NGOs, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty
International, have made detailed allegations of mistreatment of detainees by the
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