The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) strongly condemned the Palestinian Authorities crackdown against protesters and journalists in the Palestinian interim capital Ramallah. On Friday December 25 security forces of the Al-Fatah dominated Palestinian Authority violently attacked protesters and journalists who participated in a protest march in Ramallah. The demonstration that should march from Ramallah to Beit El was organized by both Palestinian National and Islamic organizations.
The PFLP issued a communique, emphasizing that the security forces attacked the participants in the march, beating marchers, journalists, and media workers, causing injuries and attempting to prevent coverage of the attack. This crackdown went as far as confiscating journalists’ cameras.
The PFLP stressed that it considers the crackdown and all of its elements as evidence of the role of the Palestinian Authority in working against and suppressing the aspirations of the Palestinian people to escalate the uprising against the Zionist occupation and oppression.
The Front stressed that the crackdown is inconsistent with national principles and reiterated its call for an immediate end to the Palestinian Authorities security cooperation between the PA and Israeli occupation forces.
The PFLP also reiterated that the Palestinian Authority once and for all and at once needs to end the burden of the Oslo Accords on the Palestinian people on political, security and economic levels. Palestinian security agencies must be converted to provide defense for the Palestinian people and to confront attacks of the occupation and settlers, instead of cracking down on Palestinians who protest against the occupier, noted the PFLP.
The Al-Fatah led Palestinian Authority has repeatedly promised to end its security cooperation with Israel. Usually such promises were made during negotiations with Israel and/or when Al-Fatah and the PA were facing strong domestic opposition. None of such promises have ever been converted into tangible measures.
Al-Fatah and the PA have also been accused to use the security cooperation with Israel to crack down on and imprison members of opposition parties, such as PFLP Secretary-General Ahmad Sa’adat, among many others. With regard to the Palestinian Authorities stance on a free press it is noteworthy that MADA, in 2014, reported that over 80% of Palestinian journalists self-censor.
CH/L & F/AK – nsnbc 27.12.2015
