Human Rights and Democracy - Official Documents

children shot while collecting wood and building materials near the border with Israel.
While we recognise Israel’s security concerns, we expect Israel to uphold
international and human rights law and have requested assurances about the
veracity of these reports.
It is comparatively more difficult to acquire reliable information on human rights in
Gaza but we were deeply concerned about reports of human rights abuses under the
de facto Hamas rule in Gaza, including arbitrary detention. Palestinian human rights
NGOs reported that senior judicial positions in Gazan courts were filled by political
appointment by the de facto Hamas government, calling into question the
independence of the judiciary in Gaza. In addition, there were reports of the
mistreatment of detainees during interrogation, leading to concerns about reliability
of evidence.
All marches, demonstrations and private meetings in Gaza require prior approval by
the de facto Hamas authorities. Civil society organisations reported that these
restrictions continued to have an impact on their ability to operate in the Gaza Strip
in 2010. In the same year the Gazan authorities started summoning Fatah activists
in Gaza to the security headquarters, where they were held for up to 12 hours before
being released. Some reported being handcuffed and interrogated by the Hamas
authorities. This form of political harassment impacts on their right to freedom of
expression and association. We were also concerned about the repression of
dissent, curtailment of free speech, suppression of women's rights, and harassment
and detention of individuals suspected of “morality” offences.
We were very concerned about the ongoing threat to Israel’s civilian population from
indiscriminate rocket fire from Gaza. We continued to call for the immediate release
of Gilad Shalit who has been held hostage in Gaza since June 2006 in denial of the
most basic human rights. Gilad Shalit should have communication with his family
and access to the International Committee of the Red Cross, and receive full and
impartial medical attention. On the fourth anniversary of Gilad Shalit’s detention in
June, William Hague said:
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