Justice Undermined:

People detained by the Palestinian Authority are frequently subjected to torture and denied access to fair trials, Human Rights Watch said in this new report. The 50-page report documents how the Palestinian Authority executive branch - including President Yasser Arafat, his ministers, police, and various security forces - has seriously undermined the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law. The report estimates that as of September 2001, the Palestinian Authority (PA) was holding about 450 people in detention without charge or trial. Most were suspected of being informants for Israeli security forces; others were alleged to have sold Palestinian land to Israelis. The PA has done virtually nothing to identify the perpetrators of about thirty vigilante-style executions, the report says. The report, charges the PA with failing to bring to justice militants who have attacked Israeli civilians. The report also says that Israeli responses to the current "intifada," including severe restrictions on freedom of movement and the destruction of Palestinian law-enforcement infrastructure, have aggravated the deterioration of the Palestinian justice system. 50pp, 7.00