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Hamas arrests men for 'immodest' haircuts

JERUSALEM, April 7 (UPI) -- About a dozen men in the Gaza Strip were detained and some were beaten because police said their haircuts were "immodest."

The Palestinian Center for Human Rights complained the men were rounded up at random on the street and taken to a police station where officers mocked them and beat down those who complained. Police loyal to the Hamas-led government then cut the men's hair in a "humiliating" fashion, The Jerusalem Post said Sunday.

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"When we arrived at the police station, they made us stand in a line and started mocking our haircuts and cursing us," and unidentified victim said. "When one of the detainees protested, he was beaten. Then they cut the hair of all of us. Before releasing us, they made us sign a pledge not to appear in strange haircuts or wear low-waist pants."

The haircut incident is just the latest episode in a crackdown on people's appearances in the Palestinian state. Hamas has barred women from smoking or appearing without their heads covered. The government recently also outlawed tight-fitting or low-riding pants, the human rights group said.

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