Amnesty slams Palestinians' freedom of expression arrests

Amnesty International on Thursday censured Palestinian authorities in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip for detaining critics and opponents for expressing their views. The London-based human rights group said five people were arrested in March and April, including a peace activist for holding a video call with Israelis and a writer who criticized authorities in Gaza for a deadly market fire. Amnesty called the detentions a “pattern of arbitrary arrests” of Palestinians for voicing their opinions.