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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.
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