Palestinians protest against their own

RAMALLAH: Hundreds of Palestinians took to the streets in the central West Bank to protest against the brutality of Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces, who on Sunday assaulted protesters at an anti-PA demonstration in Ramallah.

On Sunday, activists demonstrated at the Ramallah magistrate’s court against a case against five Palestinian activists charged by the PA with weapons possession and planning an attack on Israel – despite four of them being held in an Israeli prison and one, Basel al-Araj, being shot dead by Israeli forces last week.

Monday’s rally was organised via Facebook against the “the behaviour of PA security forces”. Participants in the rally shouted slogans, demanding that officers who assaulted protesters be brought to justice. They also chanted slogans in favour of armed revolution.

Smaller-scale protests also took place in Beirut, New York, and Haifa following outrage over the police brutality.

PA security forces spokesman Adnan al-Dmeiri accused “mercenaries” and “foreign agents” of strying to cause internal Palestinian strife.