Sipping a cup of coffee and lighting a cigarette in his office in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, independent journalist Mohamed Jaradat described the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority’s treatment of dissenting Palestinian journalists as increasingly oppressive and violent.

Jaradat, who has spent the last nine years doing production work for international media, has been detained and beaten by Palestinian security forces on several occasions.

“It is shameful that they call this the ‘State of Palestine,’” he told The Electronic Intifada. Referring to the Palestinian Authority and Fatah party leader, he said, “This is the police state of Mahmoud Abbas.”