RAMALLAH, West Bank — The state of emergency Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared March 5 to counter the coronavirus, known as COVID-19, raised fears about it being a cover for political arrests. His decree was followed the next day by Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh shutting down the government for a month.

Despite reassurances from the government that the actions aren't politically motivated, the public's fears were compounded by the Palestinian Preventive Security (PPS) arresting a former member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) representing Fatah, Hussam Khader, just hours after the state of emergency was declared. The PPS stormed his house in the Balata refugee camp near Nablus in the West Bank. He was then released March 9 after he went on a hunger strike the first day of his arrest, refusing to eat, drink or take his medicine.

He was arrested after he criticized Abbas in a Facebook post March 1, questioning the president's mental health after Abbas described the Palestinian Medical Association strike in the West Bank "despicable" in a speech.

Khader told Al-Monitor that his detention was unjustified, and the way the arrest took place was identical to the Israeli army's method. “The arrest came against the backdrop of an expression of opinion and by virtue of the Cyber Crime Law that Abbas signed [in July 2017], despite him knowing that the law is void because it wasn't approved by the PLC.”