Palestinian authority accused of cracking down on students

Palestinians said on Sunday 21 May that Palestinian Authority security forces have resumed their crackdown on university students suspected of affiliation with Hamas, writes Khaled Abu Toameh for The Jerusalem Post.

The crackdown comes on the eve of the elections for the student council at Bir Zeit University, north of Ramallah, which are scheduled to be held later this week. Hamas scored a landslide victory in the last elections at Bir Zeit University in May 2022. It also comes days after a Hamas-affiliated list won the student council elections at An-Najah University in Nablus. The victory of the Hamas-affiliated list at the largest Palestinian university in the West Bank is seen by many Palestinians as a blow to the ruling Fatah faction headed by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

A Palestinian human rights advocate said the recent arrest of several students by the Palestinian security forces is an indication that the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority leadership is worried about Hamas’s rising popularity on university campuses.
Full report on The Jerusalem Post site