The Palestinian Authority (PA) has been facing heavy criticism after banning members of an LGBT+ organization from carrying out any activities or meetings in the West Bank.

The story was first sparked on Saturday when Al Qaws organization said on their Facebook page they have held a gathering in the West Bank earlier this month in which they discussed gender pluralism. In response, a statement issued by the PA’s police spokesman, Louay Arzeikat has condemned Al Qaws activities and their plan to hold another event by the end of this month. Arzeikat had also threatened to arrest anyone involved with them labeling their activities as “contradictory” to the values of the Palestinian society.

On top of that, the group was also accused of affiliation to “suspicious parties” that plan to undermine the “society’s peaceful state of affairs."

The failure of the PA’s to provide safety and security for millions of Palestinians living the West Bank - in addition to massive corruption - remains a taboo subject in much of the Middle East.

Al Qaws, the non-governmental organization established in 2001 to support the LGBT+ community in Palestine has responded by an official statement condemning the threats and promising to continue their work into promoting sexual diversity.

While the story has made waves among Palestinians, it brought attention to the PA’s crackdown on freedoms from the LGBT+ community, to dissidents and journalists in the West Bank.

Translation: “In support with Qaws in the PA’s crackdown and oppression against the gender pluralism and the queer society.”

On the internet, the story has split Palestinians opinions. Yet, they were mostly calling for maintaining freedoms and acceptance of others so they would be able to face oppression and gain their freedoms and land back.

Meanwhile, many pro-Palestine activists have pointed out the fact that the crackdown against the LGBT+ community would provide Israel the opportunity to pinkwash its occupation by attempting to shift the global attention from the human rights violations it carries out against Palestinians to their “liberal” and “gay-friendly” society often labeled as “the only gay-friendly country in the Middle East”. </s> JERUSALEM — A Palestinian gay and transgender rights group vowed on Monday to continue its activities after the Palestinian Authority police barred the group from holding events in the West Bank and threatened to arrest participants.

The Palestinian Authority police, who exercise control in parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, announced the ban over the weekend. A police spokesman, Col. Louai Irzeiqat, described activities organized by the rights group, Al Qaws, as “a blow to, and violation of, the ideals and values of Palestinian society.”

Founded in 2001, Al Qaws is a grass-roots organization that advocates sexual and gender diversity in Palestinian society, which is largely conservative and often repressive for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

“Al Qaws condemns the use of prosecution, intimidation and threats of arrest, be it by the police or members of society,” the group said in a statement posted on social media. “We believe that the police and Palestinian society at large should focus on combating the occupation and other forms of violence that tear apart the sensitive fabric of our society and values, instead of prosecuting activists who work tirelessly to end all forms of violence.” </s> The Palestinian Authority banned members of the Palestinian Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) community from carrying out any activities in the West Bank.



The ban came after the grassroots group Al-Qaws for Sexual & Gender Diversity in Palestinian Society (Arabic for “the bow”), which engages and supports Palestinians who identify as LGBTQ, was planning to hold a gathering for its members in Nablus at the end of the month. The group operates both in the West Bank and among Arab-Israelis.

Earlier this month, Al-Qaws held an event in Nablus about sexual and gender diversity in Palestinian society. The PA police, however, learned about the event only days after it was held.Al-Qaws is a civil society organization established in 2001 with the goal of “fighting for vibrant Palestinian cultural and social change, building LGBTQ communities and promoting new ideas about the role of gender and sexual diversity in political activism, civil society institutions, media, and everyday life.”The group has offices only in east Jerusalem and Haifa.Explaining the decision to ban the LGBTQ group from operating in PA-controlled areas, Luay Zreikat, spokesperson for the PA Police, said that such activities are “harmful to the higher values and ideals of Palestinian society.”Zreikat said that the group’s activities were completely “unrelated to religions and Palestinian traditions and customs, especially in the city of Nablus.”He accused unnamed “dubious parties” of working to “create discord and harm civic peace in Palestinian society.”The PA police will chase those behind the LGBTQ group and see to it that they are brought to trial once they are arrested, Zreikat warned. He further appealed to Palestinians to report to the police about any person connected to the group.In response, Al-Qaws condemned the police threat as “incitement,” and vowed to continue its work despite the serious challenges.“The Palestinian police announcement about our activities is very unfortunate,” the group said. “It’s very strange that they are accusing us of being a suspicious entity working to take apart Palestinian society. Al-Qaws is a Palestinian organization that has been operating since 2001, and is carrying out educational and professional programs on sexual and gender diversity. We totally reject the attempt to create an atmosphere of prosecution and intimidation, as well threats of arrest.”A member of Al-Qaws said that since the police announcement, he and his friends have received hundreds of threats and hate messages from Palestinians, especially through Facebook. “The attack on us is unprecedented,” he told The Jerusalem Post. “They are calling us traitors and corrupt people and many are calling for our execution. We are afraid for our lives.”

var cont = `Join Jerusalem Post Premium Plus now for just $5 and upgrade your experience with an ads-free website and exclusive content. Click here>>



`; document.getElementById("linkPremium").innerHTML = cont; (function (v, i){ }); </s> JNS.org – The Palestinian Authority has decided to ban Palestinians who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) from politically organizing in the West Bank.

The move came as the grassroots group Al-Qaws for Sexual & Gender Diversity in Palestinian Society, which helps LGBTQ Palestinians, was planning an event in Nablus after holding one last month.

Justifying the decision, Palestinian Authority police spokesperson Luay Zreikat called the LGBTQ events “harmful to the higher values and ideals of Palestinian society,” as well as “unrelated to religions and Palestinian traditions and customs, especially in the city of Nablus.”

Zreikat blamed “dubious parties” who were seeking to “create discord and harm civic peace in Palestinian society.”

“The Palestinian police announcement about our activities is very unfortunate,” said Al-Qaws in a statement. “It’s very strange that they are accusing us of being a suspicious entity working to take apart Palestinian society. Al-Qaws is a Palestinian organization that has been operating since 2001, and is carrying out educational and professional programs on sexual and gender diversity. We totally reject the attempt to create an atmosphere of prosecution and intimidation, as well as threats of arrest.” </s> Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) have remained silent after the Palestinian Authority banned LGBT activity in the West Bank. These members of “The Squad” have supported legislation praising the Boycott-Divestment-Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel and voted against legislation condemning it. PJ Media reached out to them for comment on the move, and they have remained silent.

Early Monday morning, The Jerusalem Post reported that the PA and Palestine Police had outlawed LGBT activity in the West Bank and threatened to arrest members of the LGBT group Al-Qaws for Sexual & Gender Diversity in Palestinian Society. Al-Qaws was planning a gathering for members in Nablus at the end of the month. The group only has offices in Israel — in East Jerusalem and in Haifa.

Luay Zreikat, a spokesman for Palestine Police, said LGBT activities are “harmful to the higher values and ideals of Palestinian society.” He added that Al-Qaws’s activities are completely “unrelated to religions and Palestinian traditions and customs, especially in the city of Nablus.” </s> PALESTINE (FOX) — The Palestinian Authority has reportedly banned members of a Palestinian LGBTQ community from holding events in the West Bank, and further threatened to arrest members for activities authorities called “harmful” to the ideals of society.

The ban Monday comes after the Palestinian Authority learned that Al-Qaws, a Palestinian group that supports sexual and gender diversity, was planning an event for its members in Nablus, a city in the northern West Bank, the Jerusalem Post reported.

PA Police spokesman Luay Zreikat told the paper that such activities are “harmful to the higher values and ideals of Palestinian society” and completely “unrelated to religions and Palestinian traditions and customs, especially in the city of Nablus.”

Zreikat then charged that “dubious parties” were working to “create discord and harm civic peace in Palestinian society.”

He warned that members of the group will be sought, arrested and put on trial, asking the Palestinian community for help in locating people connected to the group, the Post reported.

Al-Qaws later responded, calling the PA’s statement “very unfortunate,” according to the Times of Israel. Members of the group have reportedly received threats and hate messages since the statement.

Ahmad Harb, commissioner-general of the Independent Commission for Human Rights, wrote an online post condemning the way police have handled the situation, the Times of Israel reported.

“It rises to the level of calling for ‘community violence and inciting a crime,’” Harb wrote. “Many understood this statement as a call to wastefully spill blood and take the law into one’s hands by implementing killing operations.”

He added: “This is not how issues are handled. This is not how the police protect its citizens.” </s> Palestinian police vow to crack down on planned LGBT event

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Palestinian police have threatened to arrest anyone involved in a gathering planned by LGBT activists and have called on people to come forward with information about them.

The announcement over the weekend followed word that al-Qaws, an LGBT group in the Palestinian territories, was planning a gathering this week in the northern West Bank town of Nablus.

Police said Sunday they would "pursue this gathering" and seek charges against anyone involved in it. The police are under the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Word of the gathering had sparked fierce debate on social media, with some Palestinians defending the activists and others condemning them for violating religious and traditional norms. Homosexuality is taboo in Arab countries, many of which criminalize it. </s> The Palestinian Authority police, who exercise control in parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, announced the ban over the weekend. A police spokesman, Col. Louai Irzeiqat, described activities organized by the rights group, Al Qaws, as a violation of, the ideals and values of Palestinian society.”

Founded in 2001, Al Qaws is a grassroots organization that advocates sexual and gender diversity in Palestinian society, which is largely conservative and often repressive for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

“Al Qaws condemns the use of prosecution, intimidation and threats of arrest, be it by the police or members of society,” the group said in a statement posted on social media. “We believe that the police and Palestinian society at large should focus on combating the occupation and other forms of violence that tear apart the sensitive fabric of our society and values, instead of prosecuting activists who work tirelessly to end all forms of violence.”

The group said the ban came a week after it held what it called a “discussion-based event” in the Palestinian city of Nablus in the northern West Bank. It also came three weeks after a Palestinian teenager was stabbed and severely wounded outside a shelter for gay and transgender youths in Tel Aviv.

Al Qaws generally operates from offices in Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem and the Israeli port city of Haifa, beyond the reach of the Palestinian Authority police. The group says it has also established “hubs” in Jaffa, near Tel Aviv; in the West Bank city of Ramallah; and recently, in Nablus.

The Palestinian police said in their statement that they had not been aware of the gathering in Nablus when it took place.

The ban prompted strong debate on Palestinian social media, with many criticizing the police’s decision.

“You are speaking to us about customs and traditions!!!!” Tami Rafidi, a Palestinian women’s affairs activist, wrote on her Facebook page. “I am telling you, we are in the 21st century and many of the customs and traditions have changed with the times!!!”

The ban also drew notice in Israel, which has long promoted its tolerance on sexual and gender issues, despite vehement rejection in some strictly Orthodox Jewish circles, and it has cited a lack of gay rights in other parts of the Middle East to make unfavourable comparisons. The current Israeli justice minister is gay, and Tel Aviv is proud of its reputation as a favourite destination for gay and lesbian travellers.

But Israel has also been accused of portraying itself as a bastion of progressive values to detract attention from its 52-year occupation of the West Bank and the right-wing government’s policies toward Palestinians.

The entanglement became clear as efforts by Israelis to show solidarity with Al Qaws, and perhaps capitalize on the Palestinian Authority’s ban, drew rebukes from others who accused the group of anti-Semitism.

Al Qaws advocates what it calls a “holistic” approach that appears to skirt any recognition of Israel. “Defiantly challenging imposed colonial borders and decades of Israeli fragmentation policies and apartheid, we work in various locations across Palestine, modifying our strategies and programs as needed,” the group states on its website.

So when Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, an Israeli deputy mayor of Jerusalem and self-described feminist, shared a Jerusalem Post article about the Palestinian police ban on Twitter and offered to host Al Qaws event in Jerusalem or in a Jewish community centre in a West Bank settlement, other Israeli advocates responded that she should be careful in any dealings with the group, which actively supports the boycott, divest and sanction movement against Israel.

Irzeiqat, the Palestinian police spokesman, said Al Qaws had been planning a gathering in Ramallah but had been deterred by the threat of arrests.

An advertisement by Al Qaws for an overnight camp at the end of this month said it would provide space for 18- to 24-year-olds exploring sexual and gender pluralism and was open to people “from all over Palestine,” including Israel, without indicating where it would take place. </s> If Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar had made their visit to “Palestine,” their time would have been devoted exclusively to bashing Israel. Their attacks would have combined American-style leftism with Palestinian religious solidarity. And yet, as Scott has pointed out more than once, there are obvious tensions between Islam and the contemporary Left, as embodied by the Squad. What branch of Islam is it, exactly, that celebrates abortion, homosexuality and transgenderism?

It would be interesting to see a reporter ask Tlaib or Omar about this news story: “PA Bans LGBTQ Activities In West Bank.”

The Palestinian Authority has banned members of the Palestinian Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community from carrying out any activities in the West Bank. The ban came after the grassroots group Al-Qaws for Sexual & Gender Diversity in Palestinian Society, (Arabic for the bow), which engages and supports Palestinians who identify as LGBT, was planning to hold a gathering for its members in Nablus at the end of this month. … Explaining the decision to ban the LGBT group from operating in PA-controlled areas, Luay Zreikat, spokesperson for the PA Police, said that such activities are “harmful to the higher values and ideals of Palestinian society.” Zreikat said that the group’s activities were completely “unrelated to religions and Palestinian traditions and customs, especially in the city of Nablus.” He accused unnamed “dubious parties” of working to “create discord and harm civic peace in Palestinian society.” The PA police will chase those behind the LGBT group and see to it that they are brought to trial once they are arrested, Zreikat warned. He further appealed to Palestinians to report to the police about any person connected to the group.

Members of the Al-Qaws group report receiving death threats. (“[M]any are calling for our execution. We are afraid for our lives.”) Of course, it could be worse. They could be in Iran, where Omar says all problems are caused by the U.S. There, they would be hanged from cranes. We eagerly await comment from Rashida and Ilhan.
The Palestinian Authority bans LGBT activities in the West Bank in anticipation of an upcoming Al Qaws event.