PA condemned after arresting Palestinian journalists in night-time raids

PA security forces carried out raids across the West Bank and broke into the houses of a number of journalists throughout the night.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab

10 August, 2017

Israel Eyal West Bank town of Qalqilya [GETTY]

Checkpoint in the West Bank town of Qalqilya [Getty]

The Palestinian Authority security forces carried out raids across the West Bank and broke into the houses of a number of journalists throughout the night.

The detained journalists were identified as Amer Abu Arafeh, Tareq Abu Zeid, Ahmad Halaiqa, Mamdouh Hamam, Mamdouh Hamamreh and Qutaybeh Salem – all have worked for media organisations that at some point have criticised the PA.

The wife of Tareq Abu Zeid said he was taken from his home in Nablus, after intelligence services stormed it and escorted him to an unknown location.

She expressed particular concern over her husband’s "bad health" as a result of his arrest last year.

Representative of the Journalists Syndicate in Bethlehem, Musa al-Shaer said that the union was not notified of the arrest warrant.

“We were informed of the arrests of journalists Mamdouh Hammamra and Qutaybeh Salem, without mentioning the reason for the arrest or a prior notification,” he said.

Al-Shaer said in an interview with Quds News that the syndicate is currently making efforts to release the journalists, and if the PA does not respond to the efforts of the union, legal action will be taken.

A statement released by the PJS on Wednesday referred to the arrests as a “dangerous attack against freedom of expression.”

The PA was condemned for conducting “an organised attack against free press” and the syndicate demanded the immediate release of the journalists.