Will the Palestinian Authority succeed in pursuing activists beyond its borders?
Palestinian activists living abroad report being targeted for airing their criticisms on social media.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) continues to pursue journalists and media activists — even those outside Palestine — for criticizing it in their social network posts, and some activists accuse the authority of resorting to violence.
On Oct. 22, unidentified gunmen opened fire on the family home of Fahid Elsalameen in the town of Samu in the southern West Bank. The house was damaged but no one was injured. Elsalameen, one of Abbas’ most prominent opponents residing in the United States, accuses the PA of being behind the attack and said he expects another such shooting as he continues to criticize the PA and accuse it of corruption.
“The Facebook activists pursued by the PA are among the finest young Palestinian men," he told Al-Monitor. "They are intelligent, courageous, devoted to our homeland and well-aware of how the PA’s corruption is prevailing. They will not put up with the PA’s [actions], and they believe [the campaign of PA President Mahmoud] Abbas against us is shameful for him but a source of pride for us. He will never stop us.”
Rai Alyoum newspaper reported Oct. 14 that the Palestinian Foreign Ministry had sent a letter to US Secretary of State John Kerry accusing Elsalameen of supporting terrorism and inciting against peace. In the letter, the ministry asked the United States to prevent Elsalameen from writing anti-PA posts on his Facebook page.
