U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Justice Undermined: Balancing Security and Human Rights in the Palestinian Justice System

NCJ Number
192694
Author(s)
Nicholas Howen
Date Published
November 2001
Length
51 pages
Annotation
This report examines serious human rights violations committed by the Palestinian Authority against other Palestinians and the failure of the Palestinian justice system to provide safeguards and redress.
Abstract
The report concentrates on the year since the renewal of violent clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces in September 2000--the Intifada. The report looks at underlying weaknesses of the Palestinian justice system that were evident long before the Intifada, as well as the deterioration in the application of justice as a result of the challenges posed by the current conflict and the impact of Israeli policies. It documents serious abuses such as torture of detainees, arbitrary arrest, prolonged arbitrary detention, imposition of the death penalty and carrying out of executions after grossly unfair trials, failure to bring to justice those responsible for vigilante killings, and the impunity of security forces and other officials who commit serious abuses. The report contains a section on balancing security and human rights during the Intifada, and a section discussing why torture continues during the present Intifada. Notes