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PALESTINE / ISRAEL
CASE No. PAL/40 - ABDEL AZIZ DWEIK

Resolution adopted by consensus by the IPU Governing Council at its 179th session*

(Geneva, 18 October 2006)


The Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,

Having before it the case of Dr. Abdel Aziz Dweik, Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, and taking note of the detailed study and report (CL/179/11(a)-R.1) prepared by the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians pursuant to the Procedure for the Treatment by the IPU of Communications concerning Violations of the Human Rights of Members of Parliament,

Noting the following information on file:

  • Dr. Abdel Aziz El-Dweik, the Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, was arrested at his home in Ramallah in the night of 5 to 6 August 2006 by the Israeli Defence Forces. His arrest comes in the context of Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip to obtain the release of Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier kidnapped on 25 June 2006 in a cross-border attack on Israeli military installations. The Israeli Government holds Hamas and the Palestinian Authority responsible for the attack. Hamas and the Palestinian Authority deny responsibility;

  • In her letter of 22 August 2006, the Speaker of the Knesset stated that the "indirect acceptance by the Palestinian Government of responsibility" for the abduction of Cpl. Gilad Shalit on 25 June 2006 and the murder of two Israeli soldiers, and the demand for an exchange of prisoners were clear proof that Hamas was chiefly concerned, not for the welfare of the Palestinian nation, but to implement its policy of terrorism against Israel. In this respect, she stated, there was no distinction between the political echelons of the organization and its military branch, the Izzadin al-Qassam Brigade. Until the Hamas-led government began to engage actively and openly in terrorism, by firing Kassam rockets and kidnapping an Israeli soldier, Israel had refrained from taking any direct action against Hamas so as to give the organization the opportunity to change its approach and meet the three basic conditions set by the Quartet. However, as soon as Hamas terrorists, with the backing of the Hamas-led government, chose to continue their active engagement against the State of Israel, Israel began to take steps to act against Hamas in order to protect its citizens from attack. This included the arrest of members of Hamas, which had long been designated a terrorist organization and was therefore an unlawful organization. The suspects, including Dr. Dweik, were arrested in order to ascertain their membership of Hamas and indict them for their involvement in additional acts of terrorism. According to the Speaker, Dr. Dweik's arrest was part of a routine criminal investigation into a suspected criminal offence, in this case membership and leadership of and action on behalf of a terrorist organization;

  • On 12 September 2006, the Ofer military tribunal ordered Dr. Dweik's release on bail. However, on 25 September 2006, an Israeli military appeal court in the West Bank overturned the decision and ruled that he would have to remain in jail pending trial;

  • According to reports of late August 2006, Dr. Dweik is being held in solitary confinement and is in poor health, suffering from chest pain and shortness of breath,

  1. Thanks the Speaker of the Knesset for the information she provided;

  2. Is alarmed at the arrest of the Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, and fears that his arrest is based not on formal charges of any specific criminal activity but rather on his political affiliation, and that it was therefore carried out for non-judicial purposes;

  3. Recalls in this respect that Dr. Dweik stood in the January 2006 elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council on the list of Hamas (Change and Reform), and that the international community, including Israel, considered the elections to have been free, fair and secure;

  4. Firmly recalls that, under international human rights law and international humanitarian law, no arrest shall be arbitrary and no one shall be held responsible for criminal acts committed by others; refers in this respectto Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention (Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War), which specifically provides that "no protected person may be punished for an offence he or she has not personally committed";

  5. Considers that Dr. Dweik's arrest not only impairs the right of the Palestinian citizens who elected him to be represented by a person of their choice, but also constitutes an attack on the Palestinian Legislative Council itself whose authority the Speaker symbolizes;

  6. Urges the Israeli authorities to release Dr. Dweik forthwith or to charge him with a recognizable criminal offence and try him in a fair and transparent legal process, guaranteeing full right of defence, as required under international human rights law and international humanitarian law;

  7. Requests the Secretary General to convey this resolution to the Israeli authorities and to the sources of the communication;

  8. Requests the Committee to continue examining this case and report to it at its next session, to be held on the occasion of the 116th Assembly (April-May 2007).

* The delegation of Israel expressed its reservation regarding the resolution.

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