Former PA intelligence chief: PA security 'terrorizing women, children'
Tawfik Tirawi, former commander of the PA's General Intelligence Service and member of the Fatah Central Committee, made the rare charge in a statement issued by his office.
By KHALED ABU TOAMEHUpdated: JULY 27, 2018 07:32Tawfiq Tirawi speaks during a news conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah(photo credit: REUTERS)
Some of the commanders of the Palestinian Authority security forces in the West Bank are “terrorizing” women and children, a former PA security chief said on Thursday.Tawfik Tirawi, a former commander of the PA’s General Intelligence Service and member of the Fatah Central Committee, made the rare charge in a statement issued by his office.Tirawi did not name the commanders of the PA security forces who he says are responsible for “terrorizing” Palestinians.Nor did he say which security force he was referring to. The PA has several security services that operate in the West Bank.Tirawi did not provide any details about the alleged practices of the PA security commanders or the purported victims.However, he also accused some PA security chiefs of “humiliating” Fatah members.The statement “condemned the practices of some commanders of the Palestinian security forces who humiliate the sons of Fatah and terrorize women and children under various pretexts.”Tirawi said that some of the security commanders were using their officers to “storm homes in the late hours of the night” to target Palestinians. These practices, he added, were taking place “at a time when our cause is being subjected to a big conspiracy. These practices serve the occupation.”In his statement, Tirawi accused the unnamed security forces of spying on Palestinians and gathering information about “patriotic” Palestinians in a way that harms them and results in their arrest.He called for the dismissal of the officers from the PA security forces because of their “illegal activities.”
Tirawi also called on PA President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah to immediately intervene to stop the practices of the PA security forces.Earlier this year, Tirawi was reported to have complained that he and other Palestinians were the victims of a CIA-backed wire-tapping operation allegedly carried out by PA security forces.