Palestine / Israel - Latest Press Releases

Palestine: Blind Imam Released after 20 Months in Administrative Detention

PAL/ISR - News | 14 January 2016

Alkarama welcomed the release, on 11 January 2016, of Ali Mustafa Ahmad Hanoon, a blind Palestinian Imam arrested by Israeli soldiers in May 2014. Ali Mustafa was arbitrarily held in administrative detention for 20 months before being released. During his detention, Alkarama seized both the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) on 19 June 2015 and the Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with Disabilities (SP Disabilities) on 18 September 2015, urging these United Nations Special Procedures for the protection of human rights to call on the Israeli authorities to immediately release him and to refrain from using the discriminatory practice of administrative detention to arbitrarily detain Palestinians for prolonged periods of time.

Palestine: 20-Year-Old Held in Solitary Confinement in Israeli Prison for 9 Months

PAL/ISR - News | 28 December 2015

On 26 July 2014, 20-year-old Fares Ghaleb Mohammad Dar-Sheikh-Saadah was arrested by members of the Israeli army at a checkpoint in Hebron, a city in the southern West Bank, and taken to the Ktzi'ot Prison in the Negev desert. In April 2015, after an incident at the prison, Fares was transferred to the Megiddo Prison in northern Israel, known for its repeated abuses of Palestinian children, where he has been detained in solitary confinement ever since. In view of these facts, on 22 December 2015, Alkarama sent an urgent appeal to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967 (SR OPT), requesting him to intervene with the Israeli authorities to put an end to Fares' solitary confinement.

Palestine: Minor Sentenced to 15 Years Imprisonment for "Throwing Stones"

PAL/ISR - News | 22 December 2015

On 26 November 2015, Mohammed Mahdi Saleh Suleiman − a Palestinian teenager arrested on 15 March 2013, tortured and arbitrarily detained for more than two years awaiting trial − was sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment and to pay fine of 30,000 Shekel by the Salem Military Court for, among several other charges, "throwing stones." Mohamed is one of the five Palestinian boys from Hares – the 'Hares Boys' case – accused of "attempted murder" by way of throwing stones who have been detained since their arrest over two years ago and sentenced to similar penalties.

Palestine: President of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas Urges International Action to Protect Palestinian Human Rights at a Special Session of the Human Rights Council

PAL/ISR - News | 30 October 2015

On 28 October 2015, the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) held a special session, which convened together Mahmoud Abbas, President of the State of Palestine, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (HCHR) to address the current situation of increased violence and human rights violations in the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt), especially East Jerusalem.

Palestine: 14-year-old Amer Bajawi Released After Serving Full 4 Months Sentence For "Throwing Stones"

PAL/ISR - News | 25 September 2015

Alkarama welcomes the release, on 22 September 2015, of Palestinian teenager, Amer Bajawi, who had been sentenced by an Israeli military court for "throwing stones" two months earlier. Prior to his release, Alkarama had sent an urgent appeal to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) on 3 August 2015 calling upon the Israeli authorities to release him.

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Israel - HR Instruments

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)

ICCPR: Ratified on 03.10.1991
Optional Protocol: No

Last State report: 14.10.2013 (4th)
Last concluding observations: 20.11.2015 (3rd)

Convention against Torture (CAT)

CAT: Ratified on 03.10.1991
Optional Protocol: No
Art. 20 (Confidential inquiry): No
Art. 22 (Individual communications): No

Last State report: 15.02.2015 (5th)
Last concluding observations: 23.06.2009 (4th)

International Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance (CED)

No

Universal Periodic Review (UPR)

Last review: 01.2013 (2nd cycle)
Next review: -

National Human Rights Institution (NHRI)

No

Palestine - HR Instruments

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)

-

Convention against Torture (CAT)

-

International Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance (CED)

-

Universal Periodic Review (UPR)

-

National Human Rights Institution (NHRI)

Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR)

Last review: 03.2009
Next review: -