Suhaib Zahda, a prominent Palestinian activist from Hebron, was arrested and interrogated by Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces after seeking permission to hold a protest over rising fuel prices, salary cuts, and corruption.
According to the Lawyers for Justice group, the preventive security service, one of the PA security agencies, arrested Zahda after he arrived at the Hebron Governorate to request approval for a peaceful demonstration. The group said his detention highlights restrictions on freedom of expression and on the right to protest, accusing the Palestinian authorities of targeting activists for voicing dissent.
Zahda's intention to organize a protest comes amid an unfolding fuel crisis across the West Bank. In recent weeks, long lines have been seen at gasoline stations in Palestinian cities as residents seek to secure fuel supplies due to concern over possible shortages and rising prices. Palestinian human rights advocates called for his immediate release.
Arrest a part of PA's intimidation campaign
His arrest is seen by many Palestinians as a continuation of the PA leadership's campaign to silence and intimidate critics and political opponents.
Some noted that Zahda's case is not an isolated incident but part of a broader policy by the Palestinian leadership to suppress criticism and prevent people from taking to the streets, fearing that such actions could fuel opposition to its rule and undermine it.
They described Zahda's detention as a "political arrest," and said they reject the PA's crackdown on activists and journalists for expressing their opinions.
Over the past decade, political activists have reportedly been detained, arrested, summoned, and occasionally interrogated for social media posts in which they expressed views that do not align with the PA's position or criticized its alleged corruption.
Death of activist Nizar Banat
One high-profile case was that of Nizar Banat, a well-known political activist opposing the PA, who was pronounced dead shortly after a raid by PA security officers on his house in Dura, south of Hebron, in 2021.
Zahda, a colleague of Banat, played a key role in organizing the labor protest movement in 2018 against the proposed social security law, which he and other critics said failed to guarantee Palestinian employees' savings or protect their pensions. At the time, he announced that the movement collected 100,000 signatures to pressure the Palestinian government to cancel the law.
Zahda was previously interrogated and detained several times by both Palestinian and Israeli authorities.
Meanwhile, he was released, but some Palestinians say his arrest casts doubt on Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's intention to hold free and fair parliamentary and presidential elections.