clearance requirements continue be in place, depriving many citizens of some basic rights, such as the right to hold public office and right to freedom of association. To extract confessions from accused persons, frequent instances of torture and ill-treatment continued to be committed in detention centres, particularly during the period of interrogation. In the Gaza Strip, unemployment and poverty reached unprecedented levels as a result of the Israeli siege, now in its 12th year. Soaring unemployment and poverty rates were also driven by measures taken by the Palestinian government, including salary deductions and early retirement of thousands of Gaza-based civil servants. This report reflects a concerted effort of an integrated team, engaging all ICHR staff members, each in line with their specialisation and scope of work. Hence, I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation to my colleagues at the ICHR Executive Office, who have, and continue to, make maximum efforts to defend human rights. For the purposes of this report, I would like to extend a special word of thanks to my colleagues who authored chapters of the report. At the forefront of these is Lawyer Khadijah Zahran, Director of the Monitoring of National Legislations and Policies Department and leader of the team who wrote the report. Thanks are also due to my colleagues and legal researchers: Maen Id’eis, Aisha Ahmed, Ammar Jamous, Taher al-Masri, Ahmed al-Ghoul, Hazem Haniyyah, Mousa Abu Duheim, Sami Jabareen, and Bakr al-Turkman. I would also like to thank my colleague Maisa’ Al-Barghouthi, who compiled and designed the report format. I would further like to extend my thanks to all ICHR partners at public institutions, security agencies, Public Prosecution, and High Judicial Council, who provided needed information. They displayed an outstanding spirit of cooperation with, and facilitated the tasks of, ICHR staff and researchers. Finally, I would like to thank ICHR Commissioner General, Mr. Issam Younes, and members of the ICHR Board of Commissioners for their unlimited support to ICHR staff. Their consistent and coherent guidance has always been our compass at work. Dr. Ammar Dwaik ICHR Director General 10 The Status of Human Rights in Palestine