A/HRC/37/42 Governorate. He was detained by the General Intelligence Service, military intelligence and the Preventive Security Services in Jericho, until his release on 21 September 2017, four days after the court ordered his release, without indictment. His arrest and incommunicado detention for four days raise concerns as to ill-treatment, including torture during interrogation. 58. In Hebron, several people were arrested while participating in peaceful demonstrations, mainly for alleged affiliation to the group Hizb ut-Tahrir, an Islamist organization critical of the Palestinian Authority. On 11 February 2017, the Preventive Security Services arrested approximately 50 persons in the context of a demonstration. While forcibly dispersing the crowd, they reportedly assaulted and arrested dozens of participants and passers-by, who were all released within 24 hours. The same day, leading figures of Hizb ut-Tahrir were also arrested at checkpoints while entering the city. They were held by the General Intelligence Service in Hebron and later transferred to Jericho, where they were detained for between 7 and 15 days without being indicted. A similar operation involving the arrest of individuals allegedly affiliated to Hizb ut-Tahrir took place on 24 February 2017, with two individuals reportedly being detained by the General Intelligence Service for over a month. 59. In Gaza, the internal security agency has also been detaining individuals on the basis of their political affiliation. On 13 April 2017, a woman was arrested by the internal security agency and detained for 10 days, during which period she was reportedly interrogated on her political affiliation to Fatah. She was released without being officially charged. The arrest and detention of members of Salafist groups, whose strict version of political Islam is perceived as a threat by the Hamas regime, continued during the reporting period.84 In December 2016, the security forces in Gaza launched a campaign and arrested dozens of members of Salafist groups. Other members were arrested during a second campaign launched after a suicide bomb attack on 17 August 2017. Many of them, including children, are currently being held by the internal security agency and some have, to date, not been charged. 60. OHCHR documented the following two cases of arrest based on allegations of affiliation with Salafist groups. On 19 December 2016, a man from Rafah was arrested during a joint operation of the internal security agency and the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades. He appeared before the military court on 12 February 2017, where the prosecutor was not in a position to provide any evidence against him. He was eventually released on 26 April 2017 without being officially charged. He reported having been subjected to illtreatment during his interrogation. Another man from Gaza City was reportedly arrested on 11 December 2016 by masked men belonging to the internal security agency. Although the military court ordered his release on bail on 20 February 2017, the internal security agency refused to implement the order until 12 April 2017, following the intervention of the Director of the Security Forces. At the time of writing, five hearings had taken place and a decision was pending. IV. Conclusion and recommendations 61. The present report outlines the high risk that Palestinians face of being arbitrarily deprived of their liberty, both by the Israeli Security Forces and the Preventive Security Services. This is especially the case for Palestinians openly opposing the Israeli occupation, or the policies of their government in the West Bank or in Gaza. Journalists and human rights defenders have been particularly targeted within this context. Cases monitored by OHCHR show how Palestinians risk being arrested for having participated in peaceful protests, questioned acts of their own government — including on social media — or for alleged political affiliation. 62. While Israeli legislation allows for indefinite administrative detention, Palestinian safeguards against the arbitrary deprivation of liberty are bypassed 84 14 See A/HRC/28/80, para. 53.