JERUSALEM, Israel – An international human rights group on Friday said Palestinian leaders in the Gaza Strip and West Bank could be guilty of crimes against humanity for their alleged systematic torture of dissidents. 

Human Rights Watch made the accusations in a report submitted to the United Nations Committee Against Torture. 

The report said that Palestinian security forces, including the Hamas terror group, “use solitary confinement and beatings, including whipping their feet, and force detainees into painful stress positions for prolonged periods, including hoisting their arms behind their backs with cables or rope, to punish and intimidate critics and opponents and elicit confessions.”