Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces on Saturday evening prevented the Palestinian citizens taking part in a demonstration against PA sanctions on Gaza from reaching the headquarters of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in Ramallah.
Large numbers of special police forces and masked officers were deployed in the area to block the road leading to the PLO headquarters eyewitnesses said.
In response to calls by the Movement to Lift Sanctions on Gaza dozens of Palestinians marched in Ramallah in protest at the punitive measures imposed by the PA government on blockaded Gaza.
Human rights activist Esam Abdin said that deploying security forces to quell Ramallah’s peaceful demonstration is a violation of Palestinian law which also prohibits collective punishment like the one imposed by the PA government on the Gaza Strip.
Movement to Lift Sanctions on Gaza said in a statement that this demonstration is part of a series of protests and campaigns aimed at showing support to the Palestinian people in Gaza and pressuring the PA to lift its sanctions.
The PA government in April 2017 decided to wage a set of punitive measures against the Gaza Strip including cutting 30%-50% of the salaries of PA employees forcing thousands of them into early retirement reducing power supplies to the coastal enclave suspending medical referrals and halting monthly payments to the families of Gaza prisoners held in Israeli jails.
