by Khalid Amayreh
"....However, the shocking truth is that the Ramallah regime is none of that. It is rather a police state apparatus whose main function is mainly confined to persecuting and tormenting Palestinian citizens deemed "non-conformist." And as we all understand, this repression is done on Israel's behalf and in order to obtain a certificate of good conduct from the evil occupiers.
A few days ago, I received a message from Palestinian lawmaker Nasser Abdul Jawwad from the Salfit region, describing how the PA security agencies have been tormenting and punishing people for their ideological views.
In the message, Abdul Jawad, an honest man of unquestionable credentials, pointed out that a poor woman whose husband had been fired from the local Police apparatus because he looked too religious (for frequenting the mosques for prayer) applied for the petty job of selling falafel at the local girls' school. The school's principal agreed, but demanded that the woman receive a "security clearance" from three agencies: The police, the Preventive Security, and the Mukhabarat or General Intelligence. The unsuspecting woman applied for a "certificate of good conduct" thinking that the matter was only routine and procedural in nature and that she had nothing to worry about anyway, given her clean record.
A few days later, however, she was summoned for an "interview' at the Mukhabarat's regional headquarters in Salfit. There, she was told that she couldn't obtain a certificate of good conduct since she had voted for an Islamic-oriented candidate in the 2006 elections. She argued that selling Falafel had nothing to do with her political preferences and that she had an absolute right to obtain a certificate of good conduct in order to find a job and be able to support her family. So after selling Falafel for a trial period for 21 days at the local school, she had to leave her short-lasting job which she did on 28 September......
Hence, every conceivable institution in the West Bank, including schools, colleges, and hospitals, has been thoroughly implanted with informers. Just imagine a situation where a school teacher is made to spy on his colleagues, or an office clerk is made to inform on his or her fellow clerk. Imagine college professors and lecturers always worried that one of their students or even colleagues might inform on them to the security agencies in case they said something that might be interpreted "differently" during their lectures.
Well, this is how the Keith Dayton's republic is trying to foster freedom of thought and expression in occupied Palestine. This must be a promising preview of the Palestinian state that Abbas and cohorts are trying to create. !!!! May God help the Palestinians......
More to the point, if selling falafel sandwiches at a girls' school in the heart of the Palestinian countryside requires all these KGB-style calculations, including summoning dignified housewives to the offices of the security agencies, just imagine how the "procedure" of appointing high-ranking civil servants would look like...... "
"....However, the shocking truth is that the Ramallah regime is none of that. It is rather a police state apparatus whose main function is mainly confined to persecuting and tormenting Palestinian citizens deemed "non-conformist." And as we all understand, this repression is done on Israel's behalf and in order to obtain a certificate of good conduct from the evil occupiers.
A few days ago, I received a message from Palestinian lawmaker Nasser Abdul Jawwad from the Salfit region, describing how the PA security agencies have been tormenting and punishing people for their ideological views.
In the message, Abdul Jawad, an honest man of unquestionable credentials, pointed out that a poor woman whose husband had been fired from the local Police apparatus because he looked too religious (for frequenting the mosques for prayer) applied for the petty job of selling falafel at the local girls' school. The school's principal agreed, but demanded that the woman receive a "security clearance" from three agencies: The police, the Preventive Security, and the Mukhabarat or General Intelligence. The unsuspecting woman applied for a "certificate of good conduct" thinking that the matter was only routine and procedural in nature and that she had nothing to worry about anyway, given her clean record.
A few days later, however, she was summoned for an "interview' at the Mukhabarat's regional headquarters in Salfit. There, she was told that she couldn't obtain a certificate of good conduct since she had voted for an Islamic-oriented candidate in the 2006 elections. She argued that selling Falafel had nothing to do with her political preferences and that she had an absolute right to obtain a certificate of good conduct in order to find a job and be able to support her family. So after selling Falafel for a trial period for 21 days at the local school, she had to leave her short-lasting job which she did on 28 September......
Hence, every conceivable institution in the West Bank, including schools, colleges, and hospitals, has been thoroughly implanted with informers. Just imagine a situation where a school teacher is made to spy on his colleagues, or an office clerk is made to inform on his or her fellow clerk. Imagine college professors and lecturers always worried that one of their students or even colleagues might inform on them to the security agencies in case they said something that might be interpreted "differently" during their lectures.
Well, this is how the Keith Dayton's republic is trying to foster freedom of thought and expression in occupied Palestine. This must be a promising preview of the Palestinian state that Abbas and cohorts are trying to create. !!!! May God help the Palestinians......
More to the point, if selling falafel sandwiches at a girls' school in the heart of the Palestinian countryside requires all these KGB-style calculations, including summoning dignified housewives to the offices of the security agencies, just imagine how the "procedure" of appointing high-ranking civil servants would look like...... "
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