A/HRC/37/42 11. During the reporting period, OHCHR monitored cases where residents of Gaza appear to have been arrested and detained by the Israeli authorities without legal basis. The arrest of fishermen off the coast of Gaza remains of particular concern. 12 During the reporting period, 42 fishermen, including 3 children, were reportedly arrested by the Israeli navy (apparently within the Israeli-authorized fishing zone). The circumstances of the arrests, the focus of the interrogations and the fact that most of the fishermen were eventually released without charge strongly suggest that such arrests have no legal basis and are used to collect information about Palestinian groups in Gaza, as exemplified in the cases described below. 12. On 4 December 2016, the Israeli navy arrested two fishermen at sea, reportedly posing no threat to the Israeli navy at the time. One of the men remained in Israeli detention without being officially charged for more than two weeks, while his brother was immediately released. The former was reportedly accused of affiliation to an armed group and subjected to ill-treatment during his interrogation. He had access to legal counsel only 10 days after his arrest. The court ordered his release on 22 December 2016, without any charge. Once back in Gaza, he was summoned by the internal security agency, detained for three days and interrogated regarding his arrest and detention by the Israeli authorities. 13. OHCHR monitored the arrest of nine other fishermen between 21 February and 18 September 2017. All nine were arrested at sea by members of the Israeli navy, who opened fire on them and forced them to undress and jump into the water after intercepting their boats, which were eventually confiscated. Two fishermen sustained injuries during their arrest. 13 The fishermen were all taken to Ashdod before being transferred to Beit Hanoun/Erez crossing point, where the majority reported being interrogated, notably about Hamas and other groups, including armed groups. None was indicted and all were released on the same day. They all reported that, upon return to Gaza, they were detained and interrogated by the internal security agency for periods varying from a few hours to two days. 14. Most fishermen summoned and detained by the internal security agency following arrest by the Israeli navy reported having been ill-treated. OHCHR monitored another case of possible arbitrary detention for interrogation by the internal security agency during the reporting period, based on political affiliation (see para. 59 below). 15. In the West Bank, detention without legal basis has been reported in cases where Palestinian security forces refused — in violation of the Basic Law for the Palestinian Interim Self-Government Authority — to implement court orders to release detainees. 14 Such orders are often bypassed by rearresting a person on new charges, usually invoking gubernatorial powers under Jordanian law (see para. 25 below). This practice continues to be of concern, as confirmed by the Independent Commission for Human Rights, which reported having received 75 complaints relating to cases of continued detention by the Palestinian authorities despite the issuance of release orders during the reporting period. 15 16. A troubling case of continued detention notwithstanding release orders is the detention, since 25 May 2017, of Shadi Nammoura, from Hebron. He was first detained by the General Intelligence Service in Hebron and then later in Jericho, on the order of the Governor of Nablus. The court ordered his release three times (on 30 May, 13 June and 3 August 2017) and each time, his continued detention — in conditions that gave cause for concern — was requested by the Governor, on the third occasion based on the need to protect the detainee from the Israeli Security Forces. Mr. Nammoura was released on 7 December 2017 and arrested by the Israeli Security Forces 11 days later. The practice of detaining individuals for their own protection, against their will, remains a concern, 16 as also shown by the case of Abuhlayyel Ammar Tawfiq, who was eventually released on 6 February 2017. He had been detained by the Preventive Security Services in Ramallah 12 13 14 15 16 4 See A/HRC/34/36, para. 19; and A/71/364, para. 37. See A/HRC/37/38. See A/HRC/19/20, para. 42. Independent Commission for Human Rights, monthly reports. Available from http://ichr.ps/en/1/5. See A/HRC/31/40, para. 59; and A/HRC/28/80, para. 47.