Human rights in the Palestinian National Authority
Encyclopedia
Human rights in the Palestinian National Authority refers to the human rights
record of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank
and Gaza
. Since Israel's implementation of its unilateral disengagement plan in 2005 and the evacuation of all Jewish settlements from Gaza Strip, the Palestinian National Authority maintains full internal control of this territory.
Freedom House
's annual survey of political rights and civil liberties, Freedom in the World 2001-2002, reported that civil liberties declined due to the shooting deaths of Palestinian civilians by Palestinian security personnel; the summary trials and executions of alleged collaborators by the Palestinian Authority (PA); extrajudicial killings of suspected collaborators by militias; and the apparent official encouragement of Palestinian youths to confront Israeli soldiers, thus placing them directly in harm's way.
The Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group
reports everyday disagreements and clashes between the various political factions, families and cities that a complete picture of Palestinian society is painted. These divisions have during the course of the al Aqsa Intifada also led to an increasingly violent 'Intra'fada'.
to the Palestinian population. Nevertheless, the right to demonstrate for opponents of the PA regime or of PA policy has become increasingly subject to police control and restriction and is a source of concern for human rights groups
Threats of death were made against Minister Nabil Shaath
for planning to participate in a conference in Italy
attended by Israel
i Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom by the Jenin Martyrs Brigades, the armed wing of the Popular Resistance Committees. They declared, "He will be sentenced to death if he enters. The decision cannot be rescinded, we call upon his bodyguards to abandon his convoy in order to save their lives."
Nabil Amar, former Minister of Information and a cabinet member and a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council
, was shot by masked gunmen after criticizing Arafat and calling for reforms in the PA in a television interview.
A Hamas-run council in the West Bank came under international criticism in 2005 for barring an open-air music and dance festival, on the basis of being "against Islam".
Abdullah Issa, Palestinian publisher and editor of the on-line magazine Donia al-Watan was detained in July 2006 by the Palestinian Authority for publishing a story about the theft of $400,000 from PA Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar while visiting Kuwait
. The story cast aspersions on Hamas for having large amounts of cash while the Palestinian people were suffering from poverty. This story had appeared elsewhere in the Arabic media. Issa, accused Zahar and Hamas of interfering with freedom of the press in the Palestinian territories and expressed disappointment with Hamas's falure to reign in corruption as promised in their election platform: "Our people have the right to hold Hamas accountable for the deterioration in their living conditions,...We were hoping that the Hamas government would start chasing and arresting all the murderers and thugs who continue to roam the streets of the Gaza Strip and to open all the cases of financial corruption." Donia al-Watan's offices have been attacked by masked gunmen and there have been death threats against Issa and staff.
The Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades
has been blamed for a number of attacks on journalists in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and the Arab television station Al-Arabiya's West Bank offices.
In September 2001, Yasser Arafat's Tanzim
kidnapped a Palestinian cameraman who shot film showing Palestinian citizens and police in Ramallah celebrating on 9/11/2001 following the attacks on US targets, and threatened to kill the cameraman if the item the film was shown on air.
In September 2006, a journalist was severely beaten and all the computer equipment in the office of the Palestinian Authority's official news agency Wafa
. Graffiti was sprayed on the wall accusing the agency of a lack of objectivity. Fatah
officials noted that PA Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar has accused the agency "of waging a politically-motivated campaign of incitement" against him and blamed Hamas
for the attack. Khan Yunis
governor Osama al-Farra condemned the attack, saying it, "reflected the continued state of anarchy and lawlessness in PA-controlled areas".
The Fatah–Hamas conflict
has further limited the freedom of the press in the PNA territories and the distribution of opposing voices in Hamas-controlled Gaza and the West Bank where Fatah still has more influence. In July 2010, with the easing of the blockade of the Gaza Strip, Israel allowed the distribution of the pro-Fatah newspapers al-Quds
, al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida
to Gaza, but Hamas prevented Gazan distributors from retrieving the shipment. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
(PCHR) condemned the Hamas restrictions of distribution of the West Bank newspapers in Gaza, and also condemned the Fatah-led government in the West Bank for restricting publication and distribution of the Gazan newspapers al-Resala and Falastin
.
the final draft lacked teeth; late in 2005, working with Palestinian Authority legal experts, DWRC successfully achieved Palestinian Legislative Council acceptance of an alternative Palestinian Labor Law.
The decades-old Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU), which claims to represent all Palestinian workers, was incorporated into the PA upon its inception. Independent unionists assert the PGFTU lacks in internal democracy and transparency, and is dominated by Fateh (all of its general secretaries and most of its unit heads have come from Fateh). In a 2007 press release carried by the Advocacy Project, DWRC noted that internal elections had not been held since 1981. These critiques have been supported by scholars Joost Hiltermann, Nina Sovich and Sos Nissen, who argue that the PGFTU has long been dominated by political factions and has in turn failed to provide effective representation for workers.
According to the PGFTU, in June 2007 Hamas seized their headquarters and ordered PGFTU staff to discuss how they were to operate under Hamas rule. According to the PGFTU general secretary, the PGFTU's refusal to negotiate led Hamas to attempt to assassinate Rasem Al Bayari, the union's deputy general secretary, three times thereafter. According to Al-Jazeera, "Saed, who has been linked to Fatah, said Hamas executive forces had seized two more offices - in Gaza and Khan Younis - taking much of the property within."
In 2007, when DWRC organized the Federation of Independent and Democratic Trade Unions & Workers' Committees in Palestine representing 50,000 workers outside of the PGFTU, the PGFTU retaliated by informing on the Gaza head of DWRC and the independent trade union coalition to Palestinian internal security, claiming that they were affiliated with Hamas.
, both the Palestinians and Israel agreed to respect and protect religious rights of Jews, Christians, Muslims, and Samaritans by a) protecting the Holy Sites, 2) providing free access to the Holy Sites, and assuring freedom of worship and practice.
a. Protection of the Holy Sites;
b. Free access to the Holy Sites; and
c. Freedom of worship and practice.
The PA, however, has in some cases failed to honor these commitments (see sections below).
A Christian leader claimed that there were "rampant reports" of abuses and persecution in PA-run areas. Anti-Christian riots were reported in Ramallah
and surrounding villages, as well as in towns in the Gaza Strip
.
In April 2006, major Muslim organizations, local mosques, the city's Mufti and municipal leaders in the West Bank town Qalqiliya requested the interior minister of the Palestinian Authority shut down the Young Men's Christian Association, which had operated in the town since 2000, due to missionary activity. The manager of the YMCA denied this: "It's not what we're about. There is no missionary activity here whatsoever. The YMCA is in the city to serve the population with financial help, sporting activities and general educational programs," and pointing to the organization's employment of many Muslims, their establishment of community programs including financing a mostly Muslim soccer club that had competed in national games. The town's Muslim leadership issued a petition demanding that the organization close down the Qalqiliya branch or face violence which read as follows: "We the preachers of the mosques and representatives of major families in Qalqiliya ask you to close the offices of the YMCA because the population of Qalqiliya doesn't need such offices, especially since there are not many Christians in our city..." It warned, "The act of these institutions of the YMCA, including attempting to convert Muslims in our city, will bring violence and tension." Three days before the delivery of this petitions, many imams spoke about the issue during Friday prayers; the following day Molotov cocktails were thrown at Qalqiliya's YMCA. In September 2006, the YMCA was given a "final notification" by local leaders. On 11 September 2006, the organization's building was broken into and torched by assailants identified by members of the local government as members of Hamas
and Islamic Jihad
well-known to local security forces.
According to the U.S. State Department's Annual Report on Religious Freedom, 2000, "there were periodic reports that some Christian converts from Islam who publicize their religious beliefs have been harassed. Converts complained that they were mistreated and threatened. The draft Palestinian Basic Law specifically forbids discrimination against individuals based on their religion; however, the PA did not take any action against persons accused of harassment".
After a visit to the Palestinian Authority administered areas, Senator Connie Mack
related on the floor of the US Senate the case of a Christian convert from Islam who was falsely charged with selling land to Jews, arrested, beaten and tortured, and held for eight months without trial. Despite being released after his family borrowed thousands of dollars for bribes, his father continued to be held, he believed as insurance of his silence on the matter.
in Nablus
was a site of clashes between Jews and Palestinians. The Israeli army agreed to withdraw from the site and turn over control to the Palestinian police, who had agreed to protect the site. Instead, they stood by while mobs ransacked the site and burned holy books.
Moreover, prominent members of the PA have denied Jewish historical connection to many Jewish holy sites, and PA Ministries have embedded such ideas in their press releases:
Yasser Arafat
:
Mufti Sheikh 'Ikrima Sabri
:
PA Information Ministry Press Release:
Al-Hayat Al-Jadeeda, PA newspaper:
. 24% of schools are UNRWA-operated, 70% are governmental, and 6% are private. Another survey conducted in May 2005 shows that there are 138139 students enrolled in Higher Education Institutions. Between these students, 9002 (6.5%) are in community colleges, 6034 (4.4%) in university colleges, 46453 (33.6%) in Al-Quds Open University
, and 76650 (55.5%) in traditional universities.
Moves by the Hamas-run Education Ministry to impose Islamist ideals onto the educational system concern many Palestinians and outside observers. In March 2007, the Ministry pulled an anthology of folktales narrated by Palestinian women from the curriculum, removed the book from libraries, and reportedly destroyed 1,500 copies. The anthology was edited by Sharif Kanaana, a novelist and anthropology professor at Ramallah
's Birzeit University
, and Ibrahim Muhawi, a teacher of Arabic literature and the theory of translation. Education Minister Nasser Shaer said that the book is "full of clear sexual expressions." A story entitled, "The Little Bird," mentions private parts, and in the notes the authors say that, "the bird in the story is a symbol of femininity and that sexual subjects are a principal source of humor in Palestinian folklore".
in 2005, 385 Palestinian fatalities were recorded. Of these, 222 Palestinians were killed by Israelis, 113 Palestinians were killed by Palestinians and 50 Palestinians were killed in unclear circumstances. 9 Palestinians were killed by Israeli settlers. The same year, 51 Israelis were killed by Palestinians; 42 were civilians, 9 were members of the military. Palestinians killed 10 Palestinians suspected to be Israeli collaborators in 2005.
has published a number of reports documenting the Palestine Authority's arrest
and detention of civilian
s without charge. In one year at least 400 such detentions were reported, primarily of political dissident
s to the Palestine Authority . In that single year Amnesty International found: "Torture [by the Palestine Authority] of detainees remained widespread. Seven detainees died in custody. Unlawful killings, including possible extrajudicial executions, continued to be reported."
In November 2006, 50 veiled Palestinian women responded to a Hamas radio appeal to act as human shields between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian gunmen hiding in a Gaza mosque. Women acted as a cover against Israeli troops allowing armed men occupying the Mosque to escape. 2 of these women were killed by Israeli forces. In two further instances in November, 2006, civilians were called to protect sites known to be targeted for attack by the IDF
, in one instance by the owner of the targeted home, Mohammedweil Baroud, a commander in the Popular Resistance Committee and by calls broadcast from local Mosques. The Human Rights Watch has condemned this behavior saying, "There is no excuse for calling civilians to the scene of a planned attack...Whether or not the home is a legitimate military target, knowingly asking civilians to stand in harm's way is unlawful.".
The Palestinian Authority has also been accused of using civilians as human shields and civilian property such as houses as sites for smuggling arms, launching sites for rockets, and factories to produce munitions, thereby exposing them to harm from Israeli Defense Forces military operations. Civilian deaths caused by these strikes are widely publicized in the media and create favorable public opinion for the PA and negative public opinion against Israel
.
Hakam Balawi
has stated, "... It is prohibited to launch rockets and to fire weapons from houses, and that is a supreme Palestinian interest that should not be violated because the result is barbaric retaliation by the occupying army and the citizenry cannot accept such shooting. Those who do it are a certain group that does not represent the people and nation, doing it without thinking about the general interest and public opinion in the world and in Israel. There is no vision or purpose to the missiles; the Palestinian interest is more important"
On the other hand, on 29 February 2008 Hamas parliamentarian Fathi Hammad spoke of a "death-seeking" culture where women, children and the elderly volunteer as human shields against Israeli military attacks. "[The enemies of Allah] do not know that the Palestinian people have developed its [methods] of death and death-seeking," Hammad is quoted by Memri in a speech televised on Hamas' Al-Aqsa television station. "For the Palestinian people, death has become an industry, at which women excel, and so do all the people living on this land. The elderly excel at this, and so do the mujahideen
and the children," Hammad is quoted as saying. "This is why they have formed human shields of the women, the children, the elderly, and the mujahideen, in order to challenge the Zionist bombing machine. It is as if they were saying to the Zionist enemy: 'We desire death like you desire life,'" he said.
The firing of Qassam rocket
s into Israel has been opposed by those living closest to the firing location due to Israeli military responses. On July 23, 2004 a family attempted to physically prevent the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades
from setting up a Qassam rocket launcher outside their house. Members of the brigade shot one member of the family, an Arab boy, and wounded 5 others.
Hamas has begun enforcing some Islamic standards of dress for women in the PA; women must don headscarves in order to enter government ministry buildings. In July 2010, Hamas banned the smoking of hookah
by women in public. They claimed that it was to reduce the increasing amount of divorces.
Honor killings are a problem in the PA; the Hamas government has not moved to stop these killings and may have set up infrastructures which participate in them. According to the 2005 Annual report of The Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group
, 11 Palestinian women died as a result of Honor killings in 2005. A November 2006 Human Rights Watch
report, A Question of Security
Violence against Palestinian Women and Girls, notes that, "a significant number of women and girls in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) are victims of violence perpetrated by family members and intimate partners. While there is increasing recognition of the problem and some Palestinian Authority (PA) officials have indicated their support for a more forceful response, little action has been taken to seriously address these abuses. Indeed, there is some evidence the level of violence is getting worse while the remedies available to victims are being further eroded." The report discusses spousal and child abuse, rape, incest, and "honor" crimes. The report suggests that reasons for the PA's failure to respond to the violence include, "discriminatory laws that condone and perpetuate such violence and the virtual absence of institutionalized policies to prevent violence, assist victims, and hold perpetrators accountable". The report outlines Jordanian laws in force in the West Bank and Egyptian laws in Gaza, "include provisions that provide a reduction in penalty to men who kill or attack female relatives committing adultery; relieve rapists who agree to marry their victims from any criminal prosecution; and allow only male relatives to file incest charges on behalf of minors". In addition, HRW interviewed Palestinian police officers, including chiefs of police who, "downplayed the severity of violence against women in the OPT and questioned the need for their involvement in the dissemination of potentially life-saving information to victims." The report also noted that, "police officers and clan leaders regularly "mediate" and "resolve" these cases, typically by returning the abused women to the "care and protection" of her attacker, without ever referring the case to the courts or the woman to social or other services she might need". While Human Rights Watch acknowledged, "the severe constraints that the Israeli occupation imposes upon the PA," they concluded that, "notwithstanding these limitations, the PA holds ultimate responsibility for protecting victims and holding perpetrators accountable...and that PA is failing to act diligently to prevent, investigate, and punish violence against women, putting women's health and lives in jeopardy. Ultimately, the PA is denying victims their rights under international human rights law to non-discrimination and an effective judicial remedy for abuse".
Crimes against women accelerated during 2007. Cases of women being beaten are common in the Gaza strip. Women murdered for "family honor" are seldom reported. Most women who are murdered are buried by members of their family in secret, and their deaths are not reported to any official body. The Palestinian media also refrain from reporting on this, for the sake of "family honor."
Israeli officials say Hamas in the Gaza Strip has established hard-line Islamic courts and created the Hamas Anti-Corruption Group, which is described as a kind of "morality police" operating within Hamas' organization. Hamas has denied the existence of the anti-corruption group, but it was recently report to have carried out a high-profile "honor killing" widely covered by the Palestinian media.
is the main justification for such treatment of homosexuals under the Palestinian Authority.
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
record of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
and Gaza
Gaza
Gaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...
. Since Israel's implementation of its unilateral disengagement plan in 2005 and the evacuation of all Jewish settlements from Gaza Strip, the Palestinian National Authority maintains full internal control of this territory.
Rights and Liberties Ratings
| Country | Number (in the rating) |
Index | Category Full democracy (1-26), Flawed democracy (27-79), Hybrid regime (80-111), Authoritarian regime (113-167) |
|---|---|---|---|
 PalestinePalestinian National Authority The Palestinian Authority is the administrative organization established to govern parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip... |
93 | 5,44 | Hybrid regime |
 SyriaSyria Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest.... |
152 | 2,31 | Authoritarian regime |
 JordanJordan Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing... |
117 | 3,74 | Authoritarian regime |
 EgyptEgypt Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world... |
138 | 3,07 | Authoritarian regime |
 IsraelIsrael The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea... |
39 | 7,46 | Flawed democracy |
- At the rankings, the highest index reports most democracy. 167 countries participated in the ranking, North Korea was worst (index 0,86) and Norway was best (index 9,80).
Freedom House
Freedom House
Freedom House is an international non-governmental organization based in Washington, D.C. that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom and human rights...
's annual survey of political rights and civil liberties, Freedom in the World 2001-2002, reported that civil liberties declined due to the shooting deaths of Palestinian civilians by Palestinian security personnel; the summary trials and executions of alleged collaborators by the Palestinian Authority (PA); extrajudicial killings of suspected collaborators by militias; and the apparent official encouragement of Palestinian youths to confront Israeli soldiers, thus placing them directly in harm's way.
The Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group
Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group
The Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group is a diverse human rights group founded in December 1996 by a group of prominent Palestinians, including members of the Palestinian Legislative Council ....
reports everyday disagreements and clashes between the various political factions, families and cities that a complete picture of Palestinian society is painted. These divisions have during the course of the al Aqsa Intifada also led to an increasingly violent 'Intra'fada'.
Freedom of speech
In theory the PA has guaranteed freedom of assemblyFreedom of assembly
Freedom of assembly, sometimes used interchangeably with the freedom of association, is the individual right to come together and collectively express, promote, pursue and defend common interests...
to the Palestinian population. Nevertheless, the right to demonstrate for opponents of the PA regime or of PA policy has become increasingly subject to police control and restriction and is a source of concern for human rights groups
Threats of death were made against Minister Nabil Shaath
Nabil Shaath
Nabil Shaath is a senior Palestinian official who has held the following titles:*Palestinian chief negotiator*Palestinian cabinet minister*Palestinian International Co-operation Minister*Planning Minister for the Palestinian National Authority...
for planning to participate in a conference in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
attended by Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom by the Jenin Martyrs Brigades, the armed wing of the Popular Resistance Committees. They declared, "He will be sentenced to death if he enters. The decision cannot be rescinded, we call upon his bodyguards to abandon his convoy in order to save their lives."
Nabil Amar, former Minister of Information and a cabinet member and a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council
Palestinian Legislative Council
The Palestinian Legislative Council, the legislature of the Palestinian Authority, is a unicameral body with 132 members, elected from 16 electoral districts in the West Bank and Gaza...
, was shot by masked gunmen after criticizing Arafat and calling for reforms in the PA in a television interview.
A Hamas-run council in the West Bank came under international criticism in 2005 for barring an open-air music and dance festival, on the basis of being "against Islam".
Freedom of the press
Sixteen Palestinian journalists have been killed or wounded by PA security forces or armed groups.Abdullah Issa, Palestinian publisher and editor of the on-line magazine Donia al-Watan was detained in July 2006 by the Palestinian Authority for publishing a story about the theft of $400,000 from PA Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar while visiting Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
. The story cast aspersions on Hamas for having large amounts of cash while the Palestinian people were suffering from poverty. This story had appeared elsewhere in the Arabic media. Issa, accused Zahar and Hamas of interfering with freedom of the press in the Palestinian territories and expressed disappointment with Hamas's falure to reign in corruption as promised in their election platform: "Our people have the right to hold Hamas accountable for the deterioration in their living conditions,...We were hoping that the Hamas government would start chasing and arresting all the murderers and thugs who continue to roam the streets of the Gaza Strip and to open all the cases of financial corruption." Donia al-Watan's offices have been attacked by masked gunmen and there have been death threats against Issa and staff.
The Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades
Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades
The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades is a coalition of Palestinian nationalist militias in the West Bank. The group's name refers to the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem...
has been blamed for a number of attacks on journalists in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and the Arab television station Al-Arabiya's West Bank offices.
In September 2001, Yasser Arafat's Tanzim
Tanzim
Tanzim is a militant faction of the Palestinian Fatah movement.-Overview:The Tanzim militia, founded in 1995 to counter Palestinian Islamism, is widely considered to be an armed offshoot of Fatah with its own leadership structure...
kidnapped a Palestinian cameraman who shot film showing Palestinian citizens and police in Ramallah celebrating on 9/11/2001 following the attacks on US targets, and threatened to kill the cameraman if the item the film was shown on air.
In September 2006, a journalist was severely beaten and all the computer equipment in the office of the Palestinian Authority's official news agency Wafa
Wafa
'Wafa' , also known as the Palestine News Agency, is the news agency of the Palestinian National Authority, and was "the P.L.O.'s news agency" in the years before the formation of the P.A....
. Graffiti was sprayed on the wall accusing the agency of a lack of objectivity. Fatah
Fatah
Fataḥ is a major Palestinian political party and the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization , a multi-party confederation. In Palestinian politics it is on the left-wing of the spectrum; it is mainly nationalist, although not predominantly socialist. Its official goals are found...
officials noted that PA Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar has accused the agency "of waging a politically-motivated campaign of incitement" against him and blamed Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
for the attack. Khan Yunis
Khan Yunis
Khan Yunis - often spelt Khan Younis or Khan Yunnis - is a city and adjacent refugee camp in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics the city, its refugee camp, and its immediate surroundings had a total population of 180,000 in 2006...
governor Osama al-Farra condemned the attack, saying it, "reflected the continued state of anarchy and lawlessness in PA-controlled areas".
The Fatah–Hamas conflict
Fatah–Hamas conflict
The Fatah–Hamas conflict , also referred to as the Palestinian Civil War , and the Conflict of Brothers , i.e...
has further limited the freedom of the press in the PNA territories and the distribution of opposing voices in Hamas-controlled Gaza and the West Bank where Fatah still has more influence. In July 2010, with the easing of the blockade of the Gaza Strip, Israel allowed the distribution of the pro-Fatah newspapers al-Quds
Al-Quds (newspaper)
Al-Quds is a Palestinian Arabic language daily newspaper, based in Jerusalem. It is published in broadsheet format. It is the largest circulation daily newspaper in the Palestinian territories. It was founded in 1951 by Mahmoud Abu-Zalaf, who served as its editor-in-chief until his death in 2005...
, al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida
Al-Hayat al-Jadida
Al-Hayat al-Jadida , is an official daily newspaper of the Palestinian National Authority.- External links :*...
to Gaza, but Hamas prevented Gazan distributors from retrieving the shipment. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights is an independent Palestinian human rights organization based in Gaza City, founded and directed by Raji Sourani...
(PCHR) condemned the Hamas restrictions of distribution of the West Bank newspapers in Gaza, and also condemned the Fatah-led government in the West Bank for restricting publication and distribution of the Gazan newspapers al-Resala and Falastin
Filastin (newspaper)
Filastin was a twice-weekly newspaper published from 1911-1948 in Palestine. Published from Jaffa, the principal publishers were Isa al-Isa and his cousin Yusef al-Isa. Both al-Isas were Greek Orthodox, opponents of British administration, and supporters of pan-Arab unity...
.
Freedom of association
In 2000 the Palestinian President ratified the first Palestinian Labor Law. However, according to the Democracy and Workers' Rights Center (DWRC)Democracy and Workers' Rights Center
The Democracy and Workers' Rights Center is a Palestinian non-governmental, non-profit organization, not affiliated with any political party. DWRC was established in 1993 by a group of trade unionists, lawyers, academics and political figures in Palestinian society to defend workers’ rights and...
the final draft lacked teeth; late in 2005, working with Palestinian Authority legal experts, DWRC successfully achieved Palestinian Legislative Council acceptance of an alternative Palestinian Labor Law.
The decades-old Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU), which claims to represent all Palestinian workers, was incorporated into the PA upon its inception. Independent unionists assert the PGFTU lacks in internal democracy and transparency, and is dominated by Fateh (all of its general secretaries and most of its unit heads have come from Fateh). In a 2007 press release carried by the Advocacy Project, DWRC noted that internal elections had not been held since 1981. These critiques have been supported by scholars Joost Hiltermann, Nina Sovich and Sos Nissen, who argue that the PGFTU has long been dominated by political factions and has in turn failed to provide effective representation for workers.
According to the PGFTU, in June 2007 Hamas seized their headquarters and ordered PGFTU staff to discuss how they were to operate under Hamas rule. According to the PGFTU general secretary, the PGFTU's refusal to negotiate led Hamas to attempt to assassinate Rasem Al Bayari, the union's deputy general secretary, three times thereafter. According to Al-Jazeera, "Saed, who has been linked to Fatah, said Hamas executive forces had seized two more offices - in Gaza and Khan Younis - taking much of the property within."
In 2007, when DWRC organized the Federation of Independent and Democratic Trade Unions & Workers' Committees in Palestine representing 50,000 workers outside of the PGFTU, the PGFTU retaliated by informing on the Gaza head of DWRC and the independent trade union coalition to Palestinian internal security, claiming that they were affiliated with Hamas.
Freedom of property ownership
In the Palestinian National Authority, selling land to Jews is a crime punishable by death.Freedom of religion
Between 1948 and 1967, many Jewish holy sites including all 48 synagogues in East Jerusalem were destroyed by Jordan, however many Jewish and Christian holy sites remain in areas controlled by the Palestinian National Authority. Under the Oslo AccordsOslo Accords
The Oslo Accords, officially called the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements or Declaration of Principles , was an attempt to resolve the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict...
, both the Palestinians and Israel agreed to respect and protect religious rights of Jews, Christians, Muslims, and Samaritans by a) protecting the Holy Sites, 2) providing free access to the Holy Sites, and assuring freedom of worship and practice.
a. Protection of the Holy Sites;
b. Free access to the Holy Sites; and
c. Freedom of worship and practice.
The PA, however, has in some cases failed to honor these commitments (see sections below).
A Christian leader claimed that there were "rampant reports" of abuses and persecution in PA-run areas. Anti-Christian riots were reported in Ramallah
Ramallah
Ramallah is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank located 10 kilometers north of Jerusalem, adjacent to al-Bireh. It currently serves as the de facto administrative capital of the Palestinian National Authority...
and surrounding villages, as well as in towns in the Gaza Strip
Gaza Strip
thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...
.
In April 2006, major Muslim organizations, local mosques, the city's Mufti and municipal leaders in the West Bank town Qalqiliya requested the interior minister of the Palestinian Authority shut down the Young Men's Christian Association, which had operated in the town since 2000, due to missionary activity. The manager of the YMCA denied this: "It's not what we're about. There is no missionary activity here whatsoever. The YMCA is in the city to serve the population with financial help, sporting activities and general educational programs," and pointing to the organization's employment of many Muslims, their establishment of community programs including financing a mostly Muslim soccer club that had competed in national games. The town's Muslim leadership issued a petition demanding that the organization close down the Qalqiliya branch or face violence which read as follows: "We the preachers of the mosques and representatives of major families in Qalqiliya ask you to close the offices of the YMCA because the population of Qalqiliya doesn't need such offices, especially since there are not many Christians in our city..." It warned, "The act of these institutions of the YMCA, including attempting to convert Muslims in our city, will bring violence and tension." Three days before the delivery of this petitions, many imams spoke about the issue during Friday prayers; the following day Molotov cocktails were thrown at Qalqiliya's YMCA. In September 2006, the YMCA was given a "final notification" by local leaders. On 11 September 2006, the organization's building was broken into and torched by assailants identified by members of the local government as members of Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
and Islamic Jihad
Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine
The Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine known in the West as simply Palestinian Islamic Jihad , is a small Palestinian militant organization. The group has been labelled as a terrorist group by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, Australia and Israel...
well-known to local security forces.
Christian sites
During 2007 many Western and Christian targets were attacked in the West Bank and Gaza. Members of local gangs and terror cells blew up and destroyed institutions linked to Western culture such as American schools, church libraries and dozens of Internet cafes. These events were largely ignored by the media.According to the U.S. State Department's Annual Report on Religious Freedom, 2000, "there were periodic reports that some Christian converts from Islam who publicize their religious beliefs have been harassed. Converts complained that they were mistreated and threatened. The draft Palestinian Basic Law specifically forbids discrimination against individuals based on their religion; however, the PA did not take any action against persons accused of harassment".
After a visit to the Palestinian Authority administered areas, Senator Connie Mack
Connie Mack III
Cornelius Alexander McGillicuddy III , popularly known as Connie Mack, is a former Republican politician. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Florida from 1983 to 1989 and then as a Senator from 1989 to 2001. He served as chairman of the Senate Republican...
related on the floor of the US Senate the case of a Christian convert from Islam who was falsely charged with selling land to Jews, arrested, beaten and tortured, and held for eight months without trial. Despite being released after his family borrowed thousands of dollars for bribes, his father continued to be held, he believed as insurance of his silence on the matter.
Jewish sites
Joseph's TombJoseph's Tomb
Joseph's Tomb is a funerary monument located at the eastern entrance to the valley that separates Mounts Gerizim and Ebal, 325 yards northwest of Jacob's Well, on the outskirts of the West Bank city of Nablus, near Tell Balāṭa, the site of biblical Shechem...
in Nablus
Nablus
Nablus is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank, approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 126,132. Located in a strategic position between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a Palestinian commercial and cultural center.Founded by the...
was a site of clashes between Jews and Palestinians. The Israeli army agreed to withdraw from the site and turn over control to the Palestinian police, who had agreed to protect the site. Instead, they stood by while mobs ransacked the site and burned holy books.
Moreover, prominent members of the PA have denied Jewish historical connection to many Jewish holy sites, and PA Ministries have embedded such ideas in their press releases:
Yasser Arafat
Yasser Arafat
Mohammed Yasser Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini , popularly known as Yasser Arafat or by his kunya Abu Ammar , was a Palestinian leader and a Laureate of the Nobel Prize. He was Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization , President of the Palestinian National Authority...
:
- "That is not the Western Wall at all, but a Moslem shrine". – Yasser Arafat.
- "Abraham was neither Jewish nor a Hebrew, but was simply an Iraqi. The Jews have no right to claim part of the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron, Abraham's resting place, as a synagogue. Rather, the whole building should be a mosque."
Mufti Sheikh 'Ikrima Sabri
Ekrima Sa'id Sabri
Sheikh Ekrima Sa'id Sabri was the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and Palestine from October 1994 to July 1, 2006. He was appointed by Yasser Arafat.He has a doctorate from Al Azhar University in Egypt on the “Islamic Endowment Between Theory and Practice”....
:
- "No stone of the Al-Buraq [Western] Wall has any relation to Judaism. The Jews began praying at this wall only in the 19th century, when they began to develop [national] aspirations."
PA Information Ministry Press Release:
- "The archeology of Jerusalem is diverse – excavations in the Old City and the areas surrounding it revealed Umayyad Islamic palaces, Roman ruins, Armenian ruins and others, but nothing Jewish. Outside of what is mentioned in the Old and New Testaments, there is no tangible evidence of any Jewish traces in the old city of Jerusalem and its immediate vicinity."
Al-Hayat Al-Jadeeda, PA newspaper:
- "Be alert and treat Joseph's Tomb and Rachel's Tomb as parcels of Palestinian land which must be liberated, and treat Joseph and Rachel as two people who died, like anyone else."
Right to education
According the ministerial statistic collected in September 2005, there are 2267 schools in general education, 31001 classes, 1078488 students, and 48674 teachers in the Palestinian territoriesPalestinian territories
The Palestinian territories comprise the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Since the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988, the region is today recognized by three-quarters of the world's countries as the State of Palestine or simply Palestine, although this status is not recognized by the...
. 24% of schools are UNRWA-operated, 70% are governmental, and 6% are private. Another survey conducted in May 2005 shows that there are 138139 students enrolled in Higher Education Institutions. Between these students, 9002 (6.5%) are in community colleges, 6034 (4.4%) in university colleges, 46453 (33.6%) in Al-Quds Open University
Al-Quds Open University
Al-Quds Open University is an administratively, academically and financially independent public university. According to the university's website, it was established in Amman, Jordan, by a decree issued by the Palestinian Liberation Organization and started operating in the Palestinian territories...
, and 76650 (55.5%) in traditional universities.
Moves by the Hamas-run Education Ministry to impose Islamist ideals onto the educational system concern many Palestinians and outside observers. In March 2007, the Ministry pulled an anthology of folktales narrated by Palestinian women from the curriculum, removed the book from libraries, and reportedly destroyed 1,500 copies. The anthology was edited by Sharif Kanaana, a novelist and anthropology professor at Ramallah
Ramallah
Ramallah is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank located 10 kilometers north of Jerusalem, adjacent to al-Bireh. It currently serves as the de facto administrative capital of the Palestinian National Authority...
's Birzeit University
Birzeit University
Birzeit University is a university located in Birzeit near Ramallah, Palestinian territories. BZU is among the foremost tertiary educational institutes in the Palestinian territories and has played a significant role in the Palestinian political dialogue.- History :The institution was originally...
, and Ibrahim Muhawi, a teacher of Arabic literature and the theory of translation. Education Minister Nasser Shaer said that the book is "full of clear sexual expressions." A story entitled, "The Little Bird," mentions private parts, and in the notes the authors say that, "the bird in the story is a symbol of femininity and that sexual subjects are a principal source of humor in Palestinian folklore".
Law enforcement
According to annual report of the Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring GroupPalestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group
The Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group is a diverse human rights group founded in December 1996 by a group of prominent Palestinians, including members of the Palestinian Legislative Council ....
in 2005, 385 Palestinian fatalities were recorded. Of these, 222 Palestinians were killed by Israelis, 113 Palestinians were killed by Palestinians and 50 Palestinians were killed in unclear circumstances. 9 Palestinians were killed by Israeli settlers. The same year, 51 Israelis were killed by Palestinians; 42 were civilians, 9 were members of the military. Palestinians killed 10 Palestinians suspected to be Israeli collaborators in 2005.
Capital punishment
Capital punishment is legal in the PA. The PA enacted 5 capital executions in 2005.Conditions for detainees
Amnesty InternationalAmnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
has published a number of reports documenting the Palestine Authority's arrest
Arrest
An arrest is the act of depriving a person of his or her liberty usually in relation to the purported investigation and prevention of crime and presenting into the criminal justice system or harm to oneself or others...
and detention of civilian
Civilian
A civilian under international humanitarian law is a person who is not a member of his or her country's armed forces or other militia. Civilians are distinct from combatants. They are afforded a degree of legal protection from the effects of war and military occupation...
s without charge. In one year at least 400 such detentions were reported, primarily of political dissident
Dissident
A dissident, broadly defined, is a person who actively challenges an established doctrine, policy, or institution. When dissidents unite for a common cause they often effect a dissident movement....
s to the Palestine Authority . In that single year Amnesty International found: "Torture [by the Palestine Authority] of detainees remained widespread. Seven detainees died in custody. Unlawful killings, including possible extrajudicial executions, continued to be reported."
Exposure of civilian targets to military action
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
, in one instance by the owner of the targeted home, Mohammedweil Baroud, a commander in the Popular Resistance Committee and by calls broadcast from local Mosques. The Human Rights Watch has condemned this behavior saying, "There is no excuse for calling civilians to the scene of a planned attack...Whether or not the home is a legitimate military target, knowingly asking civilians to stand in harm's way is unlawful.".
The Palestinian Authority has also been accused of using civilians as human shields and civilian property such as houses as sites for smuggling arms, launching sites for rockets, and factories to produce munitions, thereby exposing them to harm from Israeli Defense Forces military operations. Civilian deaths caused by these strikes are widely publicized in the media and create favorable public opinion for the PA and negative public opinion against Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
.
Hakam Balawi
Hakam Balawi
Hakam Umar As‘ad Balawi is a Palestinian politician and has been a member of the Palestinian National Authority cabinet and the Palestinian Legislative Council. He was born in the town of Bal'a, near Tulkarm in British Mandate Palestine....
has stated, "... It is prohibited to launch rockets and to fire weapons from houses, and that is a supreme Palestinian interest that should not be violated because the result is barbaric retaliation by the occupying army and the citizenry cannot accept such shooting. Those who do it are a certain group that does not represent the people and nation, doing it without thinking about the general interest and public opinion in the world and in Israel. There is no vision or purpose to the missiles; the Palestinian interest is more important"
On the other hand, on 29 February 2008 Hamas parliamentarian Fathi Hammad spoke of a "death-seeking" culture where women, children and the elderly volunteer as human shields against Israeli military attacks. "[The enemies of Allah] do not know that the Palestinian people have developed its [methods] of death and death-seeking," Hammad is quoted by Memri in a speech televised on Hamas' Al-Aqsa television station. "For the Palestinian people, death has become an industry, at which women excel, and so do all the people living on this land. The elderly excel at this, and so do the mujahideen
Mujahideen
Mujahideen are Muslims who struggle in the path of God. The word is from the same Arabic triliteral as jihad .Mujahideen is also transliterated from Arabic as mujahedin, mujahedeen, mudžahedin, mudžahidin, mujahidīn, mujaheddīn and more.-Origin of the concept:The beginnings of Jihad are traced...
and the children," Hammad is quoted as saying. "This is why they have formed human shields of the women, the children, the elderly, and the mujahideen, in order to challenge the Zionist bombing machine. It is as if they were saying to the Zionist enemy: 'We desire death like you desire life,'" he said.
The firing of Qassam rocket
Qassam rocket
The Qassam rocket is a simple steel artillery rocket developed and deployed by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military arm of Hamas. Three models have been produced and used between 2001 and 2011....
s into Israel has been opposed by those living closest to the firing location due to Israeli military responses. On July 23, 2004 a family attempted to physically prevent the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades
Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades
The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades is a coalition of Palestinian nationalist militias in the West Bank. The group's name refers to the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem...
from setting up a Qassam rocket launcher outside their house. Members of the brigade shot one member of the family, an Arab boy, and wounded 5 others.
Status of women
Women have full suffrage in the PA. In the 2006 elections, women made up 47 per cent of registered voters. Prior to the elections, the election law was amended to introduce a quota for women on the national party lists, resulting in 22 per cent of candidates on the national lists being women. The quota's effectiveness was illustrated in comparison with the district elections, where there was no quota, and only 15 of the 414 candidates were women.Hamas has begun enforcing some Islamic standards of dress for women in the PA; women must don headscarves in order to enter government ministry buildings. In July 2010, Hamas banned the smoking of hookah
Hookah
A hookah A hookah(Gujarati હૂકાહ) A hookah(Gujarati હૂકાહ) (Hindustani: हुक़्क़ा (Devanagari, (Nastaleeq) huqqah) also known as a waterpipe or narghile, is a single or multi-stemmed (often glass-based) instrument for smoking in which the smoke is cooled by water. The tobacco smoked is referred to...
by women in public. They claimed that it was to reduce the increasing amount of divorces.
Honor killings are a problem in the PA; the Hamas government has not moved to stop these killings and may have set up infrastructures which participate in them. According to the 2005 Annual report of The Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group
Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group
The Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group is a diverse human rights group founded in December 1996 by a group of prominent Palestinians, including members of the Palestinian Legislative Council ....
, 11 Palestinian women died as a result of Honor killings in 2005. A November 2006 Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
report, A Question of Security
Violence against Palestinian Women and Girls, notes that, "a significant number of women and girls in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) are victims of violence perpetrated by family members and intimate partners. While there is increasing recognition of the problem and some Palestinian Authority (PA) officials have indicated their support for a more forceful response, little action has been taken to seriously address these abuses. Indeed, there is some evidence the level of violence is getting worse while the remedies available to victims are being further eroded." The report discusses spousal and child abuse, rape, incest, and "honor" crimes. The report suggests that reasons for the PA's failure to respond to the violence include, "discriminatory laws that condone and perpetuate such violence and the virtual absence of institutionalized policies to prevent violence, assist victims, and hold perpetrators accountable". The report outlines Jordanian laws in force in the West Bank and Egyptian laws in Gaza, "include provisions that provide a reduction in penalty to men who kill or attack female relatives committing adultery; relieve rapists who agree to marry their victims from any criminal prosecution; and allow only male relatives to file incest charges on behalf of minors". In addition, HRW interviewed Palestinian police officers, including chiefs of police who, "downplayed the severity of violence against women in the OPT and questioned the need for their involvement in the dissemination of potentially life-saving information to victims." The report also noted that, "police officers and clan leaders regularly "mediate" and "resolve" these cases, typically by returning the abused women to the "care and protection" of her attacker, without ever referring the case to the courts or the woman to social or other services she might need". While Human Rights Watch acknowledged, "the severe constraints that the Israeli occupation imposes upon the PA," they concluded that, "notwithstanding these limitations, the PA holds ultimate responsibility for protecting victims and holding perpetrators accountable...and that PA is failing to act diligently to prevent, investigate, and punish violence against women, putting women's health and lives in jeopardy. Ultimately, the PA is denying victims their rights under international human rights law to non-discrimination and an effective judicial remedy for abuse".
Crimes against women accelerated during 2007. Cases of women being beaten are common in the Gaza strip. Women murdered for "family honor" are seldom reported. Most women who are murdered are buried by members of their family in secret, and their deaths are not reported to any official body. The Palestinian media also refrain from reporting on this, for the sake of "family honor."
Israeli officials say Hamas in the Gaza Strip has established hard-line Islamic courts and created the Hamas Anti-Corruption Group, which is described as a kind of "morality police" operating within Hamas' organization. Hamas has denied the existence of the anti-corruption group, but it was recently report to have carried out a high-profile "honor killing" widely covered by the Palestinian media.
Status of homosexuality
According to Shaul Ganon of the Tel-Aviv based gay rights group, Agudah, "The P.A.'s usual excuse for persecuting gays is to label them collaborators--though I know of two cases in the last three years where people were tried explicitly for being homosexuals." "It's now impossible to be an open gay in the P.A." Ganon says that Islamic lawSharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
is the main justification for such treatment of homosexuals under the Palestinian Authority.
See also
- Islamization of the Gaza StripIslamization of the Gaza StripIslamization of the Gaza Strip refers to the efforts to impose Islamic laws and traditions in the Gaza Strip. The influence of Islamic groups in the Gaza Strip has grown since the 1980s. The efforts to impose Islamic law and traditions continued when Hamas forcefully seized control of the area in...
- Human rights in IsraelHuman rights in IsraelHuman rights in Israel have been evaluated by various human rights treaty bodies, intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations and individuals, often in relation to the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict which forms part of the wider Arab-Israeli conflict and Israel internal...
- Racism in the Palestinian territoriesRacism in the Palestinian territoriesRacism in the Palestinian territories refers mainly to campaigns of discrimination and intolerance. According to many observers, racism and ethnic discrimination against Jews, Palestinians, Christians and blacks, have existed in the Palestinian territories, or in Palestine, from the mid-19th...
- Walid HusayinWalid HusayinWalid Husayin is a Palestinian blogger. In October 2010, the Palestinian Authority arrested him for allegedly blaspheming against Islam on Facebook and in blog posts...