Rights group: PA arrests in West Bank are a ‘violation’ of the law

Palestinian rights group Addameer has accused the Palestinian Authority (PA) in occupied West Bank of violating the law in its arrest of Palestinian university students, Quds Press reported on Wednesday.

In a statement, the group said: “The number of arrest campaigns carried out by the PA on political grounds has increased. The arrest campaigns included prisoners freed from Israeli prisons, and this proves that the PA is ignoring its commitment to international conventions.”

The group denounced the arrest campaigns, which have recently included 19 students from Al-Najah University after they participated in a party organised by the Islamic Bloc, Hamas’ student branch.

“Chasing students of the Islamic Bloc and arresting them constitutes a breach of Palestinian law, as well as a flagrant violation of the international conventions the PA signed in 2014,” the statement said.

The group also noted that the increase number of arrests have gone hand in hand with the PA joining a number of international conventions and agreements. “This proves that the PA security services are perplexed and that they have ignored the outcomes of joining these international agreements,” the statement said.