Prominent Palestinian on hunger strike against arrest

By Kaamil Ahmed

JERUSALEM

A leading Palestinian activist known for advocating non-violent resistance in the occupied West Bank has gone on hunger strike to protest his arrest by Palestinian security forces, his group Youth Against Settlements announced Tuesday.

Issa Amro is refusing food, water and medicine a day after he was arrested following his criticism of Palestinian forces’ detention of a journalist.

"Amro was arrested after being summoned for an interview regarding his criticism on social media of the Palestinian Authority’s arrest of journalist Ayman al-Qawasmi, director of the Freedom News Agency," said Youth Against Settlements in a statement.

Amro has been arrested on several previous occasions by Israeli authorities and is currently facing charges for incitement.

The arrests come as the Palestinian Authority faces criticism over a crackdown on criticism on social media, which has led to the arrests of several journalists in recent months.