Every time there is a serious effort towards Palestinian unity to confront the occupation, in line with the needs of the people — and, therefore, with the Resistance — Palestinian Authority “security coordination” forces, in league with the Zionist occupiers, launch arrests and attacks against the Palestinian resistance.
As Palestinian factions meet in Cairo, ostensibly to defend the Palestinian people in Gaza against the genocide and protect them from the plans of the Zionist regime and imperialist powers to impose their wishes for “the day after” on the besieged Strip, the PA in Ramallah is — as it always has been since its creation under the Oslo accords — arresting Palestinians under “security coordination” with the occupation, shooting at resistance fighters and dismantling resistance weapons.
This policy clearly aims to prevent the resistance in the West Bank from carrying out a large-scale confrontation of the occupation, standing with Gaza and the people throughout Palestine, and from defending their land and people from colonial settlers. Of course, it also aims to prevent Palestinian unity, as it is impossible to have national unity with forces that are actively engaged in an alliance with the occupation regime against the resistance.
In the early hours of 4 December 2024, PA “security” forces abducted Raheeb and Mohammed Daraghmeh after besieging their homes in Al-Jisr neighbourhood in Tubas, part of the PA’s ongoing attacks on the resistance in Tubas and its popular cradle (acting alongside Zionist assassinations and invasions.) This has involved repeatedly dismantling explosive devices created by the resistance in order to confront the invading occupation forces and multiple threats against the resistance.
Later in the day on Wednesday, 4 December, PA forces abducted two more young men, Abdel-Salam al-Masri and Mutaib Khaled Abu Hamad, from Aqaba in the Tubas district, the same village where the Zionist occupation had abducted multiple people the previous day, as well as bombing a car leading to the martyrdom of two Palestinian resistance fighters and the serious injury of a third Palestinian.
In Nablus, Palestinian Authority forces arrested Mohammed Jawad al-Bari from Jerusalem Street during the day on 4 December. He is a liberated prisoner who was released from the occupation’s prisons less than one month ago. A few hours later, the PA abducted his brother, Mahmoud Jawad in front of his home in Balata.
Later in the day, PA security forces in Bethlehem arrested Salahat Abayat as he was leaving the mosque following noon prayer, part of this ongoing campaign of arrests in cities throughout Palestine.
For Palestinian students, the PA prisons are a “revolving door” with the occupation. When released by the occupation, they are detained by the PA; and vice versa. At least five of the students arrested in the past week by the occupation were recently detained in the Palestinian Authority’s notorious jails. On Tuesday, 3 December, the PA “security” abducted Birzeit student Hudhayfa Ammar Abu Zneid from his university dorm.
One day before, the PA intelligence services in al-Khalil abducted Polytechnic University student Muhannad Mahmoud Amr, from Dura, after summoning him for interrogation at the Al-Khalil PA intelligence headquarters.
PA intelligence forces abducted Imad Abu al-Haija, the liberated prisoner, the son of the imprisoned leader Jamal Abu al-Haija, brother of the martyr Hamza Abu al-Haija, and brother of the prisoners Asem and Abdel-Salam Abu al-Haija, on 3 December.
PA “security” forces arrested Palestinian journalist Hammam Attili from his workplace in Attil, north of Tulkarem, at the same time the zionist regime carries out an arrest and assassination campaign against Palestinian journalists.
Only two weeks after he was released from PA detention in Nablus, the PA once again abducted Rami Dweikat on 30 November. He has launched a hunger strike to demand his freedom.
These are only those most recently detained by the “security forces.” Since 7 October 2023, the PA has detained 1,800 Palestinians for “security” reasons — that is, on suspicion of resisting the occupation, being held as political prisoners — while providing absolutely no security to the Palestinian people confronting violent illegal settlers and the occupation army on a daily basis.
At the same time it pursued these arrests on Wednesday, 4 December, the PA “security forces” attacked and opened fire on members of the Tulkarem Brigade of Saraya al-Quds in Tulkarem, who were able to escape, but who clearly stated following the incident that they viewed the attack as an assassination attempt. (The PA’s forces previously assassinated Brigade martyrs Ahmed Abu al-Foul and Moatassem al-Arif.)
Of course, this is nothing new. The Palestinian Authority was created in order to provide security for the colonizer and create a local agent to act in its interests, rather than to protect and liberate the Palestinian people.
From Muhyi al-Din al Sharif to Ahmad Sa’adat to today’s detainees, the treacherous PA imprisoned many leaders of the resistance in order to serve the Zionist occupation and its imperialist backers in the US, EU, Canada, etc. Free all Palestinian prisoners in PA, Zionist & imperialist jails!
