Judea and Samaria: Palestinian arrest of journalist sparks outrage over crackdown on dissidents

So far this year alone, over 300 journalists, students and activists have been rounded up in a Palestinian Authority crackdown on dissidents. The crackdowns are increasingly repressive and abusive. The treatment of Palestinians by their leadership is mostly hidden from the Western mainstream, as a false narrative is instead promoted about Israel being the abuser and oppressor. No one is advocating for the Palestinians against their true abusers, as they not only crack down on dissidents, but also use their people as human shields, and condition their children to strive for Islamic martyrdom.

West Bank: Outrage after Palestinian Authority forces arrest journalist,” by Fayha Shalash, Middle East Eye, July 15, 2023:

Anger has spread across the occupied Palestinian territories following the arrest of a prominent journalist by the Palestinian Authority’s security forces.

Aqil Awawdeh’s family said that forces from the Palestinian Preventive Security Service raided his workplace in Ramallah on Thursday afternoon, arrested him and transferred him to an unknown destination.

The arrest came after he published a short video disputing a claim made by the spokesperson of the Palestinian security services that there were no political detainees in their prisons….

The Cybercrime Law was passed in 2017 after the approval of the PA president, Mahmoud Abbas. Despite objections to the law by civil society institutions, especially human rights groups, it is still in effect.

As a result, dozens of Palestinians have been arrested and indictments submitted….

Asmaa Harish, a human rights campaigner and journalist, said that 40 detainees were being held by the Palestinian security services on political grounds.

She added that more than 300 cases of political arrests had been recorded since the beginning of 2023 in the occupied West Bank, including university students, journalists and activists……