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PALESTINE / ISRAEL
CASE N° PAL/16 - OMAR MATAR (or OMAR ABDEL RAZEQ)
CASE N° PAL/17 - NAYEF AL-ROJOUB
CASE N° PAL/18 - YASER MANSOOR
CASE N° PAL/19 - HUSNY AL-BURIENY
CASE N° PAL/20 - FAT'HY QARA'WI
CASE N° PAL/21 - IMAD NAWFAL
CASE N° PAL/22 - ANWAR ZBOUN
CASE N° PAL/23 - MAHMOUD AL-KHATEEB
CASE N° PAL/24 - ABDULJABER AL-FUQAHAA
CASE N° PAL/25 - KHALED YAHYA
CASE N° PAL/26 - KHALED SULAIMAN
CASE N° PAL/27 - NASER ABDULJAWAD
CASE N° PAL/28 - MUHAMMAD ABU-TEIR
CASE N° PAL/29 - AHMAD 'ATTOUN
CASE N° PAL/30 - MUHAMMAD TOTAH
CASE N° PAL/31 - IBRAHIM SAED ABU SALEM
CASE N° PAL/32 - BASEM AHMED ZAARER
CASE N° PAL/33 - IBRAHIM MOHAMED DAHBOOR
CASE N° PAL/34 - MOHAMED MAHER BADER
CASE N° PAL/35 - MOHAMED ISMAIL AL-TAL
CASE N° PAL/36 - FADEL SALEH HAMDAN
CASE N° PAL/37 - ALI SALEEM ROMANIEN
CASE N° PAL/38 - SAMEER SAFEH AL-KADI
CASE N° PAL/39 - REYAD ALI EMLEB
CASE N° PAL/41 - REYAD MAHMOUD RADAD
CASE N° PAL/42 - KALI MUSA RBAE
CASE N° PAL/43 - M. MOTLAK ABU JHEASHEH
CASE N° PAL/44 - WAEL MOHAMED ABDEL RUMAN
CASE N° PAL/45 - MAHMOUD IBRAHIM MOSLEH
CASE N° PAL/46 - AHMED ABDEL AZIZ MUBARAK
CASE N° PAL/47 - HATEM QAFEESHEH
CASE N° PAL/48 - MAHMOUD AL-AMAHI
CASE N° PAL/49 - ABDERRAHMAN ZAIDAN

Resolution adopted unanimously the IPU Governing Council at its 182nd session
(Cape Town, 18 April 2008)

The Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,

Referring to the case of the above-mentioned parliamentarians, all of whom were elected to the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) in January 2006, as outlined in the report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians (CL/182/12(b)-R.1), and to the resolution adopted at its 181st session (October 2007),

Recalling the following information on file:

  • The parliamentarians concerned were elected on the Change and Reform list in the January 2006 elections to the Palestinian Legislative Council; most of them were arrested at 2 a.m. on 29 June 2006 in the occupied West Bank, along with more than 30 ministers and mayors; on 25 September 2006, a military appeal court in the West Bank overturned an order for their release on bail issued on 12 September 2006 by the Ofer military tribunal, and they have remained in detention since in several prisons inside Israel, most of which are located far from their homes, and have been charged with membership of, leadership in and action on behalf of a terrorist organization, namely Hamas; the parliamentarians concerned argue that the Change and Reform list differed significantly from Hamas and that their participation in the Palestinian elections was not an offence even under Israeli law at the time;

  • On 30 June 2006, the Israeli Interior Minister revoked the East Jerusalem residence permits of Mr. Muhammad Abu-Teir, Mr. Ahmad Attoun and Mr. Muhammad Totah, who is also the Palestinian Minister of Jerusalem Affairs, on the grounds that although they were deemed to be residents of the State of Israel and therefore obliged to pay allegiance to it, their actions, namely membership of the PLC, proved that their allegiance was to the Palestinian Authority; an appeal against that decision is pending before the Supreme Court;

  • The arrests and withdrawal of residence permits came 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, which the Israeli Government blames on Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, and which both entities refute,
Considering that Mr. Abderrahman Zaidan, who had been released, was rearrested approximately one month after he had testified to the Committee at the session it held during the 116th IPU Assembly (May 2007),

Noting the study of the Israeli non-governmental organization Yesh Din (Volunteers for Human Rights) on the implementation of due process rights in the Israeli military courts in the West Bank entitled “Backyard Proceedings”, which reveals the absence of due process in those courts, particularly with respect to decision-taking in matters of detention and the length of detention, publicity of proceedings, rights of the defence to have access to prosecution material and, in general, the length of proceedings, most of which conclude with plea bargains,

Considering that, at the meeting IPU President Casini and the Secretary General had with the Israeli Minister for Foreign Affairs during their visit to Israel in early February 2008, she stated that there was no reason why information on the judicial proceedings in this and other cases of PLC members should not be provided and she undertook to ensure that such information would indeed be provided,

  1. Regrets that, despite the undertaking of the Israeli Minister for Foreign Affairs, the requested official information on the proceedings has so far not been provided;

  2. Is therefore led to reaffirm its positionthat the arrest and detention of the members of parliament concerned is quite unrelated to any criminal activity on their part and rather is linked to their political views, and that their arrest and their continuing detention are consequently arbitrary and violate their fundamental right to freedom;

  3. Notes that the serious concernsit has expressed about fair process in this and the other cases of PLC members it has under review are borne out in Yesh Din's report, “Backyard Proceedings”; is particularly distressed at the apparent lack of any reaction from the parliamentary authorities to those reports as it believes that parliament, as a guardian of human rights, should do its utmost to prevent and to remedy human rights abuses, whether they concern Israeli citizens or Palestinians in the hands of Israeli authorities;

  4. Remains deeply concerned that the arrests not only prevent the parliamentarians concerned - a third of the elected Change and Reform parliamentarians - from carrying out the mandate for which they were elected, but also greatly prejudices the right of the Palestinian people to be represented by persons of their choice;

  5. Urges therefore the Israeli authorities to release them forthwith, or to bring founded and recognizable charges of criminal activity against them without delay and try them in open court fully respecting international fair trial standards; requests the Secretary General to look into the possibility of sending an observer to any judicial proceedings that may be under way;

  6. Remains deeply concerned - in the absence of any official information on this point - at their conditions of detention and the lack of appropriate medical care; and urges the Israeli authorities to respect the provisions of the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners;

  7. Notes with deep concern the rearrest of Mr. Abderrahman Zaidan shortly after the hearing the Committee had with him, and wishes to ascertain the legal grounds for his arrest and continuing detention;

  8. Reiterates its wish for one of its members to be permitted to pay the detained parliamentarians a private visit;

  9. Fears that the withdrawal of the residence permits of Mr. Muhammad Abu-Teir, Mr. Ahmad Attoun and Mr. Muhammad Totah, rather than being grounded in law, is a politically motivated decision; notes that an appeal against that decision is pending before the Supreme Court and would be grateful for information on the status of the proceedings;

  10. Requests the Committee to continue examining this case and report to it at its next session, to be held on the occasion of the 119th Assembly of the IPU (Geneva, October 2008).
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