‘Bullets and batons’: Palestinian regime beats back | | Conflicts between Israel and Palestine Issues

Ramallah, Staff West Bank – The West Bank is on the verge of rebelling against the Palestinian Authority (PA) because it is fighting for political survival and is determined to stick to any rule, the Palestinian human rights defender has warned.

For four days, Palestinians have been marching through the streets of major West Bank cities in Israel protesting death of Nizar Banat, a PA freedom fighter and a major opposition, who was beaten by PA security forces – thought to be members of the Preventive Security Service – who seized his home in the Hebron area south of the West Bank.

“We have completed the last chapter of the PA reform and they know that the only way they can become rulers with bullets is by the staff,” said Shawan Jabarin, director of the Al-Haq human rights agency in Ramallah.

“The PA understands that they cannot win democratic elections and that senior members of the council, who are afraid of losing their prestige, believe that the only way to be in power is to use force, fear and intimidation,” Jabarin told Al Jazeera.

According to preliminary investigations, Banat suffered a rib fracture, a total body injury, and a head injury, while his family say he was hit with metal bars and a stick on the head when he was first arrested.

But despite PA’s brutal crackdown on dissenters in the West Bank – including arrests, media harassment, confiscation of media equipment and casual attire by Fatah supporters – many demonstrations have been organized.

Demonstrations have also taken place in cities around the world including Boston, Beirut, London and Amman in support.

Jabarin said at the moment he thinks the situation in the West Bank is different because people are getting tired of the Palestinian leadership.

“Things have been going on for a number of years with feelings of suffering and shame that add to the pressure that the Palestinians endured.

“Ali suffering from PA infections, their failure to fight against the occupants of Israel, while at the same time their continued security alliance with Israel has led to the arrest and torture of hundreds of Palestinian freedom fighters. ‘The’ peace process’ has not taken place and democracy has been shut down, “Jabarin said.

Al Jazeera asked for comment from Palestinian officials but received no response.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh offered his condolences to the Banat family at a weekly cabinet meeting on Monday. The team of investigators “will work with all its expertise and transparency to establish the truth and order things in accordance with Palestinian law”, he said.

“Everyone involved in the case will be referred to a qualified tribunal, who will give everyone a fair go, and we urge the inquiry committee to complete their report within the next two days,” Shtayyeh said.

‘Not our lords are lords’

On one occasion, Majdi – a middle-aged, married Palestinian politician who has never had a problem with PA security forces – told Al Jazeera he did not want to give his full name because he did not want to be arrested in the middle of the night from his home and taken to prison.

“Anyone who opposes the PA, especially those who are members of the opposition, will be arrested, tortured and possibly killed,” said Majdi, who owns a restaurant near Manara Ramallah, or in the center of the city.

“But these demonstrations surpass Nizar’s. The people have been angry with the PA for a long time because of their corruption and arrogance. The military forgets that they are supposed to serve the people, not our masters and our lords.”

Muhammad Ali and Ahmed Mohammed staged a Sunday protest against Nizar Banat’s treatment of him [Al Jazeera]

‘Do Not Listen Again’

Jabarin said, however, fears of Palestine diminished in recent months as Palestinians claimed responsibility for Israel in the uprising against Al-Aqsa Mosque and the expulsion of Palestinians from their homes in East Jerusalem.

“The new generation is technically knowledgeable, uses fast communication techniques and no longer adheres to the rules of obedience to the authorities,” he said.

Two other protesters, Muhammad Ali and Ahmed Mohammed, told Al Jazeera to come to the rally on Sunday to protest Banat’s treatment of him.

The men, who work for a waste disposal company, agreed to name them and be photographed despite fears of retaliation and initial reservation.

“Why did he kill her?” He did. “If he had been wrong he would have been taken to jail and charged and allowed to be prosecuted by a lawyer.”

Rami Arrar, a Palestinian living in Norway who was visiting families in Ramallah on vacation, did not criticize the PA and said security forces had made a serious mistake in arresting Banat.

“I don’t judge PA at all because I think he has done good things in our community and maybe not all there is,” he told Al Jazeera. “However, this has been well managed and needs to be investigated.”

Rami Arrar says PA may have made a real mistake, but the death of Nizar Banat needs to be investigated [Al Jazeera]

The PA is being pressured internally and externally to conduct a thorough investigation into Banat’s death. But Jabarin said the investigators’ investigation would not be reliable or would make those who end Banat’s death accountable.

“No Palestinian organization is planning to participate in the clean-up process while the PA is the defendant, the judge and the tribunal,” Jabarin said.

“Al Haq together with the Independent Commission for Human Rights [ICHR] They all refused to take part in the study, as did the Lawyers Bar Association, ”said Jabarin.

“Instead we will do the Nizar Procedure to find out all the facts and help in the future people who are being prosecuted for political offenses against the PA and prosecuted.”

If the PA rejects the agreement, the two parties will participate in the United Nations, the ICHR said.

Disruption of human rights

Before his death, Binat warned his family that if he died in Palestine, they would not believe the next PA investigation.

Palestinian political freedom fighters are arrested and tortured frequently by PA in the West Bank and with Hamas in Gaza, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).

Binat is not the first Palestinian to die with PA security forces.

Those who died in the PA prison include Majid al-Barghouti, a 42-year-old imam of a mosque in the village of Kobar, outside Ramallah. He was arrested by the PA General Intelligence Service (GIS) on February 14, 2008, and was pronounced dead a week later.

Photographs of the body taken that day, seen by HRW, showed severe injuries to the legs, feet and back, in conjunction with the scars caused.

In a recent report, the Center for the Human Rights of Palestine in Gaza said there had been a violation of human rights under the PA since the emergency government was declared in 2020 to fight COVID-19 and this was exacerbated by internal divisions. Supervisors, observers, and PA judges for the clashes between Hamas and Fatah.

HRW has reported that Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh promised in July 2019 that he would end fraudulent arrests, but that did not happen.

Since PA President Mahmoud Abbas called off the elections in May – following warnings recently given by his party – many political opponents have been arrested by PA security forces.

In addition to the growing anger on the Palestinian cause, the PA should also be pressured by foreign powers and the UN, whites, and Americans who say they are shocked by Binat’s death.

While Washington has been providing PA security resources with economic and military training, the European Union recently issued a statement saying it only provides technical assistance to local police, while financial assistance is supported by small businesses and non-governmental organizations.

Jabarin concluded that if the PA instituted measures to change democracy rapidly, fearing a bloody future in the constituencies in which he lived.

The armed men of the Binat family also warned that the killers would not be prosecuted, they would take things in their hands.