expressions and prescribing overly excessive penalties of deprivation of liberty. The ICHR received 57 complaints, which included 61 claims on violations of the right to freedom of opinion and expression. Of these, 37 complaints were filed in the West Bank and 20 in the Gaza Strip. According to the ICHR applicable system for classifying complaints, three prominent patterns of abuses of the right to freedom of opinion and expression were identified: (1) use of social media platforms, namely, Facebook; (2) freedom of the press; and (3) making statements and speaking with the media. Based on ICHR correspondence, relevant authorities did not take any new measures or procedures to protect the right to freedom of opinion and expression. Additionally, the ICHR did not receive any replies from government bodies on the policies and measures implemented to safeguard this right. Along this vein, the ICHR highlights its position towards the Law by Decree No. 10 of 2018 on Cybercrime, stressing that the Commission’s demands be fully incorporated. Action and dialogue will be maintained in order to come up with a new draft of the Law by Decree, ensuring that it protects, and never violates, human rights and fundamental freedoms. The ICHR further reiterates it recommendations of previous annual reports. First and foremost, the Council of Ministers should review effective legislation relating to the right to freedom of opinion and expression, including the Penal Law and Law on Printed Materials and Publication. The Council of Ministers should also issue directives to the Police and security agencies to stop detaining or summoning journalists or citizens on grounds of expressing their opinions on social media networks. The MoI should establish independent fact finding commissions, including representatives of human rights organisations and Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, to investigate all cases involving abuses of journalists and to hold perpetrators to account. Expedited action should be taken to enact the Law on the Right of Access to Information. 2.1.6 Right to freedom of peaceful assembly The ICHR received 46 complaints on violations of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly, including 38 in the West Bank and eight in the Gaza Strip. In the West Bank, complaints and patterns of reported violations were as multiple as assaults on participants in, dispersal of, and ban on peaceful assemblies. Based on the ICHR monitoring, relevant authorities did not make any policies or take any new measures or procedures to protect the right to freedom of peaceful assembly. With one notable exception, the MoI published a Guidance Manual on Regulation of the Relationship between Security Forces and Journalists in the Field. The manual was released on the recommendation of the committee, which had been established in the aftermath of events 20 The Status of Human Rights in Palestine