Independent Palestinian news agency reports on arrest of journalist by PA security forces

Headline: “The arrest of journalist Al-Fakhouri – there are no freedoms under the roof of the [PA] Security Forces headquarters”

“Journalist Thaer Al-Fakhouri from Hebron has been detained in the [PA] Preventive Security Forces headquarters in Hebron since Wednesday [July 24, 2019]… and this confirms that there are no freedoms and no immunity for members of the media and journalists under the roof of the Security Forces headquarters – the opposite of what the [Palestinian] Authority leadership and Palestinian [PA] President [Mahmoud Abbas] are priding themselves in…

Attorney Hijazi Abido who is monitoring the issue told [independent Palestinian news agency] Palestine Today on behalf of journalist Al-Fakhouri that his arrest was carried out due to a video published a while ago on one of the Facebook pages that talks about the ‘representatives’ that work with the Security Forces, and he was summoned to a meeting in order to analyze the video’s content due to his familiarity with the person who created it… When he refused, an indictment for establishing the page [and publishing] the video was submitted against him.”

Palestinian journalist Thaer Al-Fakhouri was arrested on July 24, 2019, by the PA Security Forces following a video that was uploaded to social media and deals with people working with the Security Forces. Al-Fakhouri has worked mainly with Hamas-affiliated media outlets and was already arrested by the PA previously in 2017.