MAX SALTMAN
Palestinian human rights activist Farid al-Atrash gives a press conference as part of Amnesty International’s “Human rights day,” on Nov. 30, 2017 in Paris. He was arrested on July 4 after a protest.
(PHOTO CREDIT ERIC FEFERBERG/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES)
Special Report
By Max Saltman
Israeli Forces arrested Palestinian human rights lawyer Farid al-Atrash at a checkpoint near East Jerusalem on July 4, according to a press release from the Hebron-based activist group Youth Against Settlements. At the time of his arrest, al-Atrash was traveling to Bethlehem from a protest against the Palestinian Authority (PA) in Ramallah.
According to a statement by the Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR), of which al-Atrash is chair, he was transferred to the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem soon after his arrest. The reason why remains unclear, though Israeli police confirmed al-Atrash’s arrest in a statement and said that the lawyer had been taken into custody for “rioting.”
Though al-Atrash has taken part in peaceful actions against the Israeli occupation in the past, his most recent efforts have focused on the PA’s human rights violations. In response to the murder of Palestinian journalist Nizar Banat, who was clubbed to death in PA custody in June, thousands of Palestinians gathered in Ramallah to protest against President Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah party.
Issa Amro, founder of Youth Against Settlements, said in an interview with the Washington Report that al-Atrash’s arrest was an unusual move on Israel’s part. Although the police and military frequently detain Palestinian activists, in this case Israel appears to have arrested al-Atrash on behalf of the PA.
“What is abnormal is that [Israel arrested al-Atrash] to protect a crime, a human rights crime by the PA,” said Amro, referring to Banat’s death. “Farid was one of the main mobilizers of the Palestinian peaceful protesters against the PA killing of Nizar Banat.”
Though the PA is the de jure government for the Palestinian people, Amro described it as a “sub-contractor” of Israel, noting that the PA has arrested him on numerous occasions for his work as a nonviolence advocate and activist in Hebron. Only a few days before Banat’s death, Amro had been arrested and released by Palestinian police.
“[Youth Against Settlements] are banned by the PA,” Amro said, “and all for only peacefully protesting the Israeli occupation.”
In April, Abbas announced that planned Palestinian elections would be canceled after a dispute over voting in East Jerusalem. The move was vociferously criticized by Palestinians, especially the youth. Because the PA has not held an election since 2006, currently no Palestinian under 34 has ever voted in a national election.
“When I met with Secretary Blinken,” said Amro, referring to the U.S. Secretary of State, who visited Ramallah in May, “I told him that I want him to put high pressure on the PA to hold elections as soon as possible so Palestinians will have the opportunity to choose their new leadership.”
Amro stated that he had met with al-Atrash in court the day before speaking to the Washington Report, and emphasized the intensity of the activist’s time in custody.
“He was traumatized,” Amro said. “He was very angry. He told me, ‘Issa, I am only a human rights defender. I am only a lawyer. I never participated in any violence against the Israeli occupation, I never did, and I never will. Why I am behind bars is only because I am protesting against Palestinian corruption and Palestinian human rights violations.’”
Al-Atrash has a hearing scheduled for July 11, and until then Amro intends to lobby the U.S. State Department to put pressure on Israel to release al-Atrash as soon as possible.
“That story doesn’t go out when we talk about it,” Amro concluded, referring to the parallel suppression of Palestinians by Israel and the PA. “We are stuck between occupation and its sub-occupation.”
Max Saltman is an editorial intern at the Washington Report.
