The chairwoman of the International Council of Jewish Parliamentarians, Italian MP Fiamma Nirenstein, has expressed solidarity with Mahmoud Abu Rahma, a human and civil rights activist who has been recently stabbed in the Gaza Strip, as reported by the Gaza-based NGO Al-Mazan which employs Abu Rahma. The attack is allegedly connected to the release of an article written by him last December in which he had sharply criticized Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups in Gaza for repeated human and civil rights violations, banning the freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly and the use of torture and illegal detentions, which resulted in the death of several individuals. He was stabbed repeatedly in the leg, shoulders and back after leaving his brother’s house in Gaza City.
In his article, Abu Rahma also condemned the unfortunate common practice by terrorist groups to act in "densely-populated areas", displaying a "continuous negligence of the resistance groups who show little or no care for people's life and well-being". He added: "One segment of Palestinian society, victimized by the political violence, negligence, or legal violations that occurred during this time, will nevertheless find themselves excluded from the process of recompense: these are the victims of the separate Palestinian governments or resistance groups under their supervision."
Hamas and other jihadists showed "little or no care for people’s life and wellbeing,” he noted, adding: "Military sites function and are located in places very close to neighborhoods, and/or schools, from where acts of resistance, including firing rockets, also occur."
The abuse of human rights in Gaza has steadily increased since Hamas’ coup in 2007. Political opponents, women, homosexuals, religious minorities are reported to be under a growing threat. There has also been mounting intolerance toward Gaza's small Shiite minority, which has lately experienced harassment and mass arrests while celebrating a Shiite holiday.
“The International Council of Jewish Parliamentarians, an organization committed to uphold the principles of democracy, further the cause of human rights and promote the rule of law, firmly condemns the ongoing repression in Gaza. We praise the courage of Mahmoud Abu Rahma and we call on the international community to open its eyes and act to shine a light on Gazans human rights situation, first and foremost by supporting political objectors, so that their exposure will not be vain," Nirenstein declared in a statement.
