Hamas militants in Gaza have set their sights on young men donning inappropriate hair styles and have begun rounding them up, ordering cuts — even beating them for violations of religious codes.
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights reported that the Palestinian police are also targeting males who wear their pants too low.
“Palestinian police have stopped several young men walking in different areas in the Gaza Strip in the last three days and taken them into custody saying their hair styles are inappropriate,” the PCHR said in a statement reported by Agence France-Presse. “Those young men were forced to get haircuts in a humiliating way and several of them were beaten.”
AFP also reported that the men taken into custody were then forced to sign statements “saying they wil never grow their hair or have strange hairstyles or even wear low-waist trousers,” PCHR stated. The group called for the attorney general to investigate.
“We severely condemn the detention of several young men in the past few days by the Palestinian police,” the PCHR said.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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