Why is the Palestinian Authority arresting West Bank activists?

Dozens of Palestinian activists have been detained by the PA in the aftermath of Israel’s offensive on Gaza Strip

By Linah Alsaafin
28 May 2021

Tarqi al-Khudeiri is back home with his family in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, but the 22-year-old activist, whose face and presence is well known in the city’s demonstrations, is still bewildered by his arrest at the hands of Palestinian security forces last week.

“The preventative security forces called my father’s mobile phone last Saturday and informed him that he and I need to both be present for a ‘friendly’ 10-minute chat at their headquarters,” al-Khudeiri told Al Jazeera. “They promised that my father and I would go home together.”

The officers then showed a video of a protest, claiming that al-Khudeiri had chanted insults against late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, which he categorically denied.

“Everyone knows I have a good relationship with the members and activists of the various political parties,” he said. “These protests were in support of the resistance and in solidarity with our people in Gaza during Israel’s offensive. It doesn’t make sense to use these protests to insult political leaders.”

Continue reading at www.aljazeera.com