Abuse of power & retaliationOversight & ethics enforcementPhysical & psychological abuse
Palestinian Authority security services face UN and rights-group findings of arbitrary detention and torture in the West Bank, with no reported prosecutions
Confidence: Confirmed · 2 sourcesState of Palestine · Oct 6, 2026
Subject of this story
Palestinian Authority security services
Also named
Oversight
Independent Commission for Human Rights (Palestine)
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
Advocate
Human Rights Watch
What happened
Human Rights Watch's World Report 2026 says that in the first eight months of 2025 the Palestinian Independent Commission for Human Rights received 356 complaints of arbitrary arrest and 79 of torture and ill-treatment against the PA, and that the PA acted with impunity. On July 26, 2026 the UN human rights office called on the PA to stop torture and arbitrary detention, citing reports of stress positions, beatings and prolonged solitary confinement, and detentions under a 1954 Jordanian law that the Palestinian Supreme Constitutional Court declared unconstitutional in 2023. Neither source reports a PA response or prosecutions.
Sources (2)
World Report 2026: Israel and Palestine356 complaints for arbitrary arrests ... and 79 complaints of torture and ill-treatment during detention by the PA
The Jerusalem PostThe Palestinian authorities must immediately stop all forms of torture and other ill-treatment of detainees and all arbitrary or unlawful detention.
Response
Palestinian Authority security services
No response by publication
Contacted — no response by publication.
What happened next (0)
No outcome recorded yet.