Hamas MP condemns PA sentences against 35 activists in West Bank

Palestinian MP Atef Odwa yesterday condemned the Palestinian Authority (PA) for sentencing 35 Palestinian activists in the occupied West Bank, stressing these measures “are null and void”, Safa news agency reported.

Odwan, who is a member of the Hamas Change and Reform parliamentary bloc, stressed that the rulings of the PA courts were based on “jungle law and authoritarianism” represented by President Mahmoud Abbas’ government.

“The PA considers truth, transparency and credibility as crimes,” he said. “Chasing the noble people and detaining them in Palestine reflects a dirty and condemned image that no free Palestinian can accept it.”

Referring to the detained activists, Odwa said: “We shall elevate the position of these heroes because they stick to the rights and speak about the rights in a way that harms the corrupt people.”

“We do not trust the PA’s judiciary in the occupied West Bank,” noting that the judicial authority helps the executive authority to evade social and popular monitoring over its “corrupt and bad behaviours.”

Concluding his statement, Odwan said: “The PA deals with the country as a company that they steal whatever they want from it without giving anything to the people.”

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