[News] The PA is gradually being cornered by Palestinian society

[Anti-Imperialist News]

middleeastmonitor.com
<https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20220802-the-pa-is-gradually-being-cornered-by-palestinian-society/>
The PA is gradually being cornered by Palestinian society
Ramona Wadi
------------------------------

August 2, 2022 at 5:37 pm

Palestinian Authority leader, Mahmoud Abbas, does not tolerate any
political thought that is divergent from his brand of corruption. While the
murder of Palestinian activist, Nizar Banat, last year by the PA's security
services was marked with prominence, the PA has persisted in persecuting
Palestinian activists, university students and journalists, under the
pretext of safety for Palestinian civilians. Abbas has, perhaps,
conveniently wiped out the memory of Palestinians being beaten for
protesting against his rule and the security services' murder of Banat. The
only safety Abbas wants concerns his rule. It could be said that possibly
the PA is funded only to exist as a buffer zone between Palestinian
civilians and Israel's colonial expansion and violence, for Israel's
benefit, of course.

In 2021, Lawyers for Justice recorded
<https://lawyers4justice.ps/more-than-340-political-arrests-in-2021/> more
than 340 arrests made by the PA. Between May and November last year, more
than 200 Palestinians were arrested, based upon their political opinions.

In June this year, Israeli media reported
<https://www.timesofisrael.com/14-pa-security-officers-accused-of-beating-abbas-critic-to-death-freed-on-bail/>
that 14 security services officers on trial for Banat's murder have been
released on bail, ostensibly due to the risk of a coronavirus spread in
prison. The selective release, of course, fools nobody. Releasing officers
who are clearly a threat to Palestinian civilians is of no concern to the
PA, but rather a necessity.

Last month, the PA security services embarked on another raid targeting
Palestinian students, activists and journalists. According
<https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/29/palestinian-authority-arrest-campaign-one-of-the-worst-in>
to Muhannad Karajeh from Lawyers for Justice, the latest PA raid which led
to the arrest of 94 civilians was one of the biggest since 2012. Most
Palestinians detained were affiliated to Palestinian political factions
critical of the PA, notably Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. A majority were also former
prisoners in Israeli jails, which is a reminder of how the PA and Israel
often collaborate when it comes to detaining Palestinians. According to the
spokesman for the Palestinian security services Talal Dweikat, Abbas's
orders were given based "on the importance of exerting all the pressure
possible to address all manifestations of chaos and disorder in the
Palestinian street."

*READ: Fatah official criticises 2021 decision to cancel parliamentary
election
<https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20220802-fatah-official-criticises-2021-decision-to-cancel-parliamentary-election/>*

Combating protests with violence will only increase protests against
Abbas's rule. With Banat's murder, the PA has shown exactly how far it will
go to counter the most formidable threats to its illegitimate rule. The
latter has been a subject of a recent protest
<https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/25/palestinian-lawyers-protest-against-abbas-governing-by-decree>
by the Palestinian Bar Association, which is speaking out against Abbas's
ruling through decrees which the Palestinian Constitution only allows as a
necessity.

And while Abbas may be more concerned about challenges posed by activists,
society is increasingly revolting against the PA. Yesterday, the
Palestinian Engineers Syndicate also staged a protest in front of the PA's
Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh's headquarters demanding
<https://www.arabnews.com/node/2133946/middle-east> financial rights and
the implementation of signed financial agreements.

With discontent rife among all sectors of Palestinian society, the meagre
concessions Abbas managed to negotiate with Israeli Defence Minister, Benny
Gantz, will provide no buffer zone for the conditions Abbas and Israel have
created. While the arrests certainly depict the brute force of the PA's
security services, the increase in protests testifies to the fact that
soon, possibly, Palestinians will unleash a united front against decades of
PA donor-funded corruption.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not
necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.
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