Palestinian security forces forcibly dispersed demonstrators in central Ramallah to demand a lifting of financial sanctions imposed by the Palestinian Authority on the Gaza Strip.
PA security forces fired tear gas, used pepper spray and beat a lot of participants, including women. Officers in civilian clothes intervened and attacked demonstrators, provoking angry reactions.
The presidency decided to prevent the demonstrations, after a movement called “lifting of sanctions”, supported by factions, activists, former prisoners, lawyers and journalists, carried out two previous demonstrations demanding the cancellation of punitive measures by the PA on Gaza.
The authorities arrested around 60 demonstrators and released them hours later.
Demonstrators told Asharq Al-Awsat that members of the security forces in civilian clothes took part in the arrest operations. Palestinian officials, factions and human rights organizations condemned the excessive use of force against demonstrators.
The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate announced the boycott of news by the Palestinian government and security services, strongly protesting the attacks on journalists during the demonstration.
Hanan Ashrawi, member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), said: “This unjustified behavior constitutes a flagrant violation of the right to freedom of expression and peaceful demonstration and is in complete contravention of the principles enshrined in Palestinian Basic Law and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which the State of Palestine has signed in April 2014.”
The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) held the Palestinian government fully responsible for the recent developments. It called for the formation of an impartial commission of inquiry to determine those who gave orders to suppress the demonstrators.
Hamas accused the PA of imposing a policy of repression, while the Popular Front described the developments as a crime. The “Islamic Jihad” condemned in the strongest terms the assault against the unarmed, while other factions defended the right for peaceful demonstrations.
