A ‘nervous’ Abbas intensifies crackdown on critics

The Palestinian Authority is becoming increasingly intolerant of its critics and political rivals, Palestinian human rights advocates, lawyers and political activists said on Sunday.

“The continued crackdown on public liberties shows that the Palestinian leadership is nervous and does not want to hear about democracy and freedom of expression,” he said in a statement after PA security forces in Ramallah on Saturday arrested dozens of Palestinian activists. ” .

He added that Abbas believes that any Gaza-related deal that excludes the PA further aggravates Hamas and undermines the position and credibility of the Palestinian leadership, he said.

Palestinian protesters clash with Israeli forces during a protest at the Israel-Gaza border east of Gaza City on August 21, 2021. (credit: Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash 90)

Last week, Qatar and the United Nations signed an agreement under which the international body will distribute financial aid to more than 100,000 families in the Gaza Strip. The PA initially demanded that the money be transferred only through its Ramallah-based government.

Other activists said Abbas was angry because he felt the US was not putting enough pressure on Israel on settlement construction and other issues related to Jerusalem.

On Saturday, PA security forces arrested more than 20 Palestinians who were planning to take part in a protest in the center of Ramallah to demand justice for the slain activist.

The PA said it has detained 14 officers involved in the incident, but no one has been charged so far. The officers are believed to have been held at a PA security facility in Jericho.

Banat’s family and friends have vowed to continue protesting his violent death until those responsible are held accountable.

Fearing calls for a “bury” of the case after the PA failed to prosecute the detained officers, Banat’s family and friends called for another protest in Ramallah on Saturday.

However, dozens of PA officers sealed off the area shortly before the planned protests. Several journalists who came to cover the protests were warned by plainclothes officers that they would be arrested if they did not leave the scene.

When the protesters started appearing, they were immediately taken into custody and taken to a nearby police van.

The first to be arrested was Jihad Abdo, a prominent political activist and outspoken critic of the PA. Maher al-Akhras, another outspoken critic of the PA, was then arrested by Israel for affiliation with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorist organization.

Most of those arrested are known to have affiliations with various Palestinian factions. In addition to the PIJ, they represent Hamas and the PLO’s Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP).

In total, 23 people were arrested as part of the PA’s effort to stop the protests, according to the Ramallah-based Lawyers for Justice, which regularly monitors human rights violations by Palestinian security forces.

The group said those arrested included two women, Dr. Kawthar Abweni and social activist Doha Madi.

It states that the detainees have been accused of participating in an “illegal assembly” and “inciting sectarian conflict”, a term often used by the PA to describe all forms of criticism of the Palestinian leadership. .

PA police said twenty-four protesters were arrested because they did not have official permission to hold the gathering.

On Sunday morning, PA security forces arrested another prominent PIJ activist Sheikh Khader Adnan while he was protesting in Ramallah against Saturday’s action.

According to Lawyers for Justice, since last May more than 120 Palestinians, including 15 women, have been arrested by PA security services on charges related to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and political affiliation. Some prisoners were badly beaten up by the PA security officers.

A human rights activist said that over the past three months, more than 160 Palestinians have been called for questioning by various branches of the PA security services.

“Most of them were questioned about their posts on Facebook and Twitter,” the activist said. “Many were forced to delete posts or close their social-media accounts because they dared to criticize the Palestinian leadership or demand justice for Nizar Banat.”

Ghassan Awad, a political activist from Ramallah, said: “The actions taken by the Palestinian Authority are turning upside down.” “The repressive measures are seen as part of an effort to intimidate the public and silence critics. But this is making Hamas and the opposition even stronger.”

“The Palestinian leadership in Ramallah is afraid of criticism,” said Bir Zait University student Najwa Abdel Rahman. “President Abbas is also afraid of many people who work for him. He doesn’t trust most of them. He doesn’t want to see anyone protesting against himself or PA.

The Palestinian Human Rights Commission called for the immediate release of all those arrested on Saturday. The group called on the PA to “respect their right to peaceful assembly”, but it stopped short of condemning the action.

Hamas, the PIJ, PFLP and DFLP issued separate statements strongly condemning the ongoing crackdown on PA critics in the West Bank and calling for the immediate release of all those arrested in the past few weeks.

“This shameful PA policy is a national sin and an insult to the Palestinian struggle,” Hamas said.