Fatah members abuse on rise in Gaza

A Palestinian human rights organization expressed concern Tuesday about the increasing number of arrests of Fatah members in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian Center for Human Rights is "gravely concerned" over summons issued against Fatah members and called upon the government in Gaza "to stop such acts that are carried out on political grounds." The group called on the Internal Security Service to put an end to "such summons and detention practices under degrading conditions, in order to create an appropriate atmosphere" more conducive to unity. According to the group, people who have been summoned are complaining they were detained under cruel conditions that include detention in small cells. They were also questioned about their activities as Fatah members in Gaza and their "provocative role" against the government after the power crisis began over a month earlier, it says. About 80 Fatah members have been summoned in the recent wave, according to PCHR. A few of them reported being subjected to torture and threats of injury upon being convicted of "incitement." Since the Palestinian territories split into two governments in 2007, the Fatah government in the West Bank and Hamas government in Gaza have endlessly subjected their rivals to harassment based on political affiliation. Despite promises to put an end to the practice, neither side has ever complied for long. Also Tuesday, Fatah accused Hamas of detaining its spokesman in Gaza, Fayez Abu Eita. The arrest is a "dangerous escalation" and threatens efforts to reconcile the rival factions, al-Qawasmi said. It is a disappointment for the Palestinian leadership and Egyptian mediators, he added. Hamas, meanwhile, accused PA forces of detaining eight members across the West Bank. Hamas and Fatah signed a reconciliation agreement in Cairo last May. The faltering deal has failed to yield a unity government, and the parties continue to lead rival administrations.