Date: 24 Feb 2021
A briefing to inform you of the Israeli occupation violations and interference in the conduct of the electoral process in Palestine during 2021.
The International Commission to Support Palestinians’ Rights (ICSPR) highly appreciates your keenness to defend the right of peoples to self-determination and their right to participate in public affairs, including their right to vote and run for elections.
The International Commission to Support Palestinians’ Rights (ICSPR) sent this briefing to : Secretary-General of the United Nations , Secretary-General of the League of Arab States , Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation , UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process ,UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory and The High Commissioner for Human Rights.
With reference to the above subject, allow us to inform you of the violations against leading figures in political parties, MPs, independents, and freed prisoners since the moment President Abbas issued the presidential decree to hold the elections, including threats to prevent the holding of elections in East Jerusalem, as part of efforts to disrupt the elections process and obstruct the democratic experiment.
According to the available data on Israeli violations and interference in the conduct of the electoral process in the West Bank and Jerusalem, dozens of cases per day against deputies in the Legislative Council and against released prisoners and community leaders, in addition to cases of intimidation of others to prevent them from participating in the elections or exercising their right to vote, the right that is guaranteed by international laws and charters.
The Israeli occupation forces have explicitly threatened many leaders and parliamentarians, including Aziz Dweik, President of the Legislative Council, who was threatened amid a raid on his home and by presenting a clear message to him that warns him from running the next legislative elections.
The Israeli Intelligence also threatened to arrest Nayef al-Rajoub, the former Minister of Endowments if he runs for the legislative council. The occupation forces had also stormed the house of the leader Faregh Swafta and took him to an unknown location without any reason or previous notification, as well as arresting dozens of liberated prisoners, including Khaled and Abdel Al-Bast Al-Hajj, Ammar Hanbali, Mustafa Sennar, Fazaa, Fazza’ Adnan Asfour, and stormed the house and arrested the liberated prisoner, Ubadah Al-Kharraz, as well as the engineer Ahmed Aqtil, who received a clear threat after storming his house amid threats in case he interfered in the elections with electoral propaganda or candidacy.
The successive Israeli violations indicate that the direct targeting of obstructing the conduct of the electoral process and the continuation of the Israeli occupation’s dominance over political life constitutes a challenge to international charters and agreements that affirm the right of peoples to self-determination and indicate the absence of the Palestinian people’s enjoyment of their system of rights protected under human rights and international humanitarian law, which now requires immediate and serious intervention to stop these violations, and their severe impact on disrupting the electoral process and practicing democratic life, in order to silence the Palestinian voice and obstruct the arrangement of the Palestinian house.
Finally, we hope that you will intervene now, individually and/or collectively, in a manner that guarantees legal protection for Palestinians participating in the elections and exert pressure on Israel to enable Palestinians in occupied Jerusalem to participate in the general elections, according to what is stipulated in the signed agreements considering that the rights to run and political participation are guaranteed, legitimate and indivisible rights.
