2021 Activity

Civil Forum condemns attacks on civilian protestors and calls on security agencies to carry out their responsibilities for protecting citizens and ensuring their right to peaceful protest

Civil Forum condemns attacks on civilian protestors and calls on security agencies to carry out their responsibilities for protecting citizens and ensuring their right to peaceful protest

Civil Forum condemns attacks on civilian protestors and calls on security agencies to carry out their responsibilities for protecting citizens and ensuring their right to peaceful protest

The Civil Forum for Promoting Good Governance in the Security Sector (Civil Forum) strongly condemns recent attacks on civilian protests against the murder of political activist Nizar Banat by security agencies and non-uniformed security personnel. The Civil Forum believes that security agencies are clearly implicated in these attacks. They have manifestly failed in protecting citizens and peaceful protestors.

The Civil Forum asserts that civil society organisations have documented many serious incidents. For instance, uniformed and non-uniformed security officers assaulted, dragged along the ground, and beat participants on various parts of their bodies. Dozens of protestors were arrested, detained, and had their mobile telephones seized. In addition to assaulting journalists, security personnel fired tear gas canisters intensively, with no regard for the safety of civilians.

The Civil Forum views with dismay the spokesman of security agencies, who renounced those violations and attacks. He denied that non-uniformed security personnel assaulted protestors despite the fact that their identities have now been publicly known. In doing so, the spokesman has putt community safety at risk as he lifted the veil on security personnel, considering that their actions were personal and that the Palestinian Authority was not responsible for these actions.

On Sunday, 27 June 2021, Civil Police forces withdrew from the Yasser Arafat (Al-Sa’a) roundabout square when a group in civilian clothes, claiming to be Fatah supporters, stormed into the area where participants were protesting against the murder of Nizar Banat. This was ensued by a deliberate attack on participants, particularly women. Police withdrawal reflects a dereliction of duty for imposing law and order and abdication of responsibility for protecting citizens and ensuring their right to peaceful protest. This demonstrates that security agencies, including the Civil Police, work in favour of a particular group of the Palestinian people. It violates provisions of the Basic Law, which prevents discrimination on the basis of political opinion. It also runs counter to the values and principles of the Declaration of Independence, which provides that the State of Palestine is for all Palestinians without discrimination. Work in favour of a certain group further involves a breach of the integrity of governance.

The Civil Forum stresses that protection of the national project requires embarking on a comprehensive political reform process, leading to security sector reform. This should be in line with a national security doctrine that is premised on raising the profile of public service and freedoms. Hence, the Civil Forum confirms that the role of security forces is to protect and maintain dignity of Palestinian citizens without discrimination between political parties and social groups on the grounds of opinion.

Against this background, the Civil Forum calls for:

  1. Holding the government fully responsible for the murder of Nizar Banat and the subsequent events because it has failed to establish security and order – the first and foremost sphere of competence of the government. The Civil Forum demands that the government be immediately dismissed and a transitional national government be formed.
  2. Dismissing the directors of security agencies, who are proven to have been involved in the murder. Security agencies will be re-institutionalised and restructured in tandem with a national security doctrine, which is grounded in respect for human rights and values of integrity. Abandoning subordination, these agencies will be fully loyal to the people.
  3. Holding to account those responsible for the crime, including the persons who issued the arrest warrant, made the decision to send the security force, and assaulted political and social activist Nizar Banat.
  4. Opening an independent investigation into all attacks on journalists and trying in open court Palestinian security personnel who confiscated and abused the privacy of journalists’ devices, Violating the privacy or circulating personal photographs of individuals poses a serious threat to community safety.
  5. Ensuring a prompt return to elections, announcing simultaneous presidential and legislative elections, and setting a date for local elections.
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