PA targets Abbas rivals in ‘unprecedented’ crackdown
Palestinian Authority security forces have arrested 49 Palestinians on suspicion of being affiliated with ousted Fatah leader Mohammad Dahlan, a spokesman for the Dahlan-led Democratic Reform Current told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday.
Another 150 Palestinians have been briefly detained or summoned for interrogation by PA security forces for the same reason, Dimitri Diliani said.
The PA crackdown on Dahlan supporters in the West Bank began during US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Ramallah on May 25, he said.
Diliani, a resident of east Jerusalem, is regarded as one of the most vocal and prominent opposition figures in the West Bank. He is a former member of the Fatah Revolutionary Council and is chairman of the board of directors of Hamilton Software Company and the Palestinian Company for Hospitality Services.
The unprecedented clampdown has mostly targeted activists and candidates associated with the Dahlan-affiliated Al-Mustaqbal list for the parliamentary election that was supposed to take place on May 22.
The list has several thousand members in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem. Most of them are disgruntled Fatah activists and former PA
security officers.
In late April, PA President Mahmoud Abbas delayed the parliamentary and presidential election, which was slated for July 31, on the pretext that Israel did not approve his request to allow the vote to take place in Jerusalem.
Many Palestinians believe Abbas decided to call off the elections because of the split in his ruling Fatah faction and fear that Hamas would win.
Fatah was supposed to contest the parliamentary election under three separate lists consisting of Abbas loyalists, supporters of Dahlan and members of a new party headed by Nasser al-Qidwa, a former PA foreign minister.
Since Abbas announced the decision to call off the elections, the PA security forces have also arrested or summoned for interrogation dozens of Hamas supporters, Palestinian political activists and social-media users, some of whom were accused of “insulting” senior Palestinian officials.
Several Hamas supporters were accused of participating in rallies in support of the Gaza-based terrorist group during last month’s fighting with Israel.
Dahlan, who is based in the United Arab Emirates, previously served as a PA security commander in the Gaza Strip. He was expelled from Fatah in 2011 after falling out with Abbas. The PA leadership has accused him of involvement in financial corruption.
Among the 49 Dahlan loyalists who are currently being held in prison by the PA are Mohammad Nazzal and Wesam Ghuneim, who were candidates on Al-Mustaqbal’s electoral list.
They and other Dahlan supporters were questioned about their relations with the deposed Fatah leader and the source of funding for their electoral list and election activities.
“The campaign of arrests against Al-Mustaqbal activists and volunteers began while President Abbas was meeting with Secretary of State Blinken in Ramallah,” Diliani said. “The visit of Blinken, which came after the crisis between the PA and the US during the previous US administration, emboldened President Abbas to target the Mustaqbal list, which poses the biggest threat to his [Fatah] faction. Abbas, in short, exploited the visit of Blinken and interpreted it as political backing by the US to suppress his political opponents and critics.”
The Dahlan supporters were being targeted by the PA security forces because of their role in exposing rampant corruption among the high echelons of the Palestinian leadership, Diliani said.
“In addition, our men are being targeted because they have a good reputation, unlike the Abbas loyalists in Fatah,” he said.
Asked about claims by the PA that Dahlan and his men were working to undermine the Palestinian leadership in the West Bank, Diliani said the PA’s “failed performance was sufficient to weaken it without outside intervention.”
He denied that the Dahlan supporters had asked Arab countries to intervene with the PA to end the security crackdown.
“This is an internal Palestinian issue,” he said. “We are keen on preventing others from meddling in our internal affairs.”
Diliani accused Abbas of resorting to repressive
measures “against anyone who disagrees with him.” Despite the crackdown, the Dahlan supporters will continue their political activities and demand the holding of free elections, he said. •