Palestinian Israelis have a right to free speech and protest, insists Amnesty

Amnesty International has called on the Israeli Minister of Internal Security, Gilad Ardan, to tell police officers to respect the country’s Palestinian citizens’ right to protest and free speech, Arab48.com has reported.

The human rights group expressed its concerns about the use of institutional violence against Palestinians and measures taken to block protests, including preventive and arbitrary detention. Information obtained from the media and eyewitnesses, said Amnesty, shows that the Israeli authorities have tried to prevent Palestinians from holding legitimate demonstrations. The organisation is also concerned about the use of unnecessary violence. The role of undercover officers in this respect has to stop, it insists.

Israel’s arrest of minors and adults for using social media contradicts the democratic values of free speech and protest, explained Amnesty’s director of campaigns. “There is no place for bargaining the right to free speech and the right to demonstrate,” commented Hilal Alloush. “There is no justification for the police to breach the law, officers are there to protect the law.” The organisation is extremely concerned about the arbitrary arrests of activists and the unjustified use of force, he added.