Palestinian Authority security forces have detained more than 20 Palestinians over the past two weeks because of their writings on social media and for participating in demonstrations during and after the recent events in Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.
In February, PA President Mahmoud Abbas issued a decree “banning the detention, arrest, prosecution of, or holding to account, individuals for reasons relating to the freedom of opinion and political affiliation.”
The decree was designed to boost public freedoms ahead of the Palestinian parliamentary and presidential elections, which have since been called off by Abbas.
In the past two weeks, however, the PA resumed its crackdown on social media users and political rivals in the West Bank, according to Lawyers for Justice, a Palestinian group that monitors human rights violations in PA-controlled areas.
The group revealed that more than 20 Palestinians have been detained, while several others were summoned for interrogation “against the background of writings and posts on social media pages or participation in popular activities in support of occupied Jerusalem and Gaza.”
The group said that many of the detainees were physically assaulted by Palestinian interrogators.
“The arrests by the [Palestinian] security services were carried out arbitrarily and in violation of the law,” the group charged, adding that some of the detainees were ordered not to hire the services of Lawyers for Justice.
One of the detainees, Tarek Khudairi, was taken into custody on suspicion of “cursing” former PLO chairman Yasser Arafat during a demonstration in Ramallah. Khudairi was released after being held in detention for five days.
Another detainee, Mahdi Abu Awad, complained that he was tortured by PA security officers during his interrogation in the PA-controlled Jericho Prison.
The group called on the PA government to end the crackdown and “prevent the Palestinian security services from continuing to infringe on the rights and freedoms of people.”
“Lawyers for Justice calls for the immediate release of all the detainees and an end to the campaign of arrests, summons, and incitement,” the group said in a statement.”
The PA security forces have also detained or summoned for interrogation a number of activists affiliated with Mohammed Dahlan, the exiled Fatah operative and archrival of Abbas.
The activists had served as volunteers with Dahlan’s electoral list Al-Mustaqbal, which was established to run in the Palestinian parliamentary election that was supposed to have taken place on May 22.
Last week, families of the Palestinian detainees demonstrated in Ramallah to demand the release of their sons from PA prisons.
The families condemned the PA for resuming its crackdown on its political opponents and on social media activists.
Muhanad Karajah, a lawyer representing Lawyers for Justice, accused the PA of pursuing “politically-motivated” arrests, especially since the beginning of the events in Sheikh Jarrah and the Gaza Strip.
He said that the detainees were being interrogated about their writings on social media, and the charges against them include “fomenting sectarian strife” and insulting senior Palestinian officials.