Continued targeting of professional unions – preventing doctors' elections in Jerusalem
On Friday morning, Israeli intelligence, accompanied by special forces, raided the headquarters of the Professional Associations Complex in the town of Beit Hanina, north of Jerusalem, and banned the Doctors' Syndicate elections.
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center in Jerusalem explained that the occupation forces stormed the headquarters before the start of the electoral process and before the ballot boxes opened, and arrested Dr. Samir Mtour.
The occupation forces also posted a notice on the door of the headquarters prohibiting the holding of elections, pursuant to a decision by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, based on the so-called Implementation of the Oslo Accords on the West Bank and Gaza Strip/Restrictions on Activities Law of 1994.
The notice stated:
"There is a plan to hold elections for Palestinian doctors by or under the auspices of the Palestinian Authority, in a building in the town of Beit Hanina, Jerusalem, without obtaining a written permit, as stipulated in Section 3/A of the law. Based on my authority, I order the ban on this activity."
Elections for the Doctors' Syndicate are being held today in all Palestinian governorates to elect a president for the syndicate. It's worth noting that the occupation authorities had banned the Palestinian Bar Association elections last July after storming the union's headquarters at the time. They also summoned a number of lawyers for interrogation repeatedly over the past few weeks.
