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Angry protesters clashed with Palestinian security forces on the third day of protests in the West Bank resident the death of a strong opponent of the Palestinian Authority (PA) who died while in PA prison.
Hundreds gathered in the city of Ramallah – the PA capital – to sing anti-President Mahmoud Abbas songs just two days after the Abbas army had arrested freedom fighter Nizar Banat.
According to Banat’s family, twelve policemen hit him on the head with sticks and irons. His death was confirmed a few hours after his arrest.
The protesters had Palestinian flags and Banat signs, and asked 85-year-old Abbas to leave. “People want to overthrow the government,” he sang, as well as, “get off the ground, Abbas!”
“We want a radical change in politics that will reflect the will of the people,” protagonist Esmat Mansour told Reuters.
As protesters marched to Abbas’s office, a group of Presidential fighters closed the rally, prompting stone exchanges between the two sides. Police in riot gear fired tear gas and tear gas canisters at protesters, sending scores of people fleeing.
Struggle with PA’s defense at a protest rally after the death of freedom fighter and PLC representative #NizarBanat in PA prison at THU. At least 20 protesters and three PA security members were injured. Five journalists were beaten. Recent video from AlJazeera: pic.twitter.com/JWurEjR4uy
– Rania Zabaneh (@RZabaneh) June 26, 2021
Later, Abbas’s supporters gathered at a rally, with many chanting: “People want Abbas as President.”
At least five journalists – four of them women – were injured in the protests, including Middle East Eye journalist Shatha Hammad, who was beaten in the face with humidity.
Hammad said the PA military had “targeted” journalists, and used uniformed police to beat and arrest protesters.
PA threats attack journalists. pic.twitter.com/1/1cOuBKcQ No
– Tariq Dana (@TariqNDana) June 26, 2021
According to medical experts, at least 20 people were injured in the clashes.
In a statement, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem described the PA as “violent”.
“The brutal repression by PA security forces in the West Bank against protesters is a violation of the law and a violation of all humanitarian law and principles,” he said, adding that the PA was acting against “international ideology and practice.”
Witnesses: The trip to Ramallah was suppressed by security forces in civilian and formal attire pic.twitter.com/a74lrmndRI
– Quds News Network (@qudsn) June 26, 2021
On Thursday, protesters set fires, closed the city center and clashed with violent police in Ramallah.
Palestinians also sang against the PA on Friday at Banat Funeral in Hebron and armed men with their helmets tossed guns into the air.
Hundreds also encouraged Abbas after Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
‘Money maker in Israel’
The devastation comes as the PA-backed PA begins to destroy Palestinians, whom it considers extremist and independent, a three-year period of peace that cannot be compared to Palestinian independence.
Palestinian protesters have accused PA of colluding with Israel.
We cannot speak of what is going on in the streets of Palestine without talking about severe oppression. The PA and Israel’s chief security contractor, both attack journalists & freedom fighters! #JusticeForNizar #NizarBanat #FreePalestine pic.twitter.com/wHYxdY1710
– Mona shtaya (@Monashtayya) June 26, 2021
The PA is leading some parts of the West Bank that is taking over Israel, while the Hamas opposition group has been in control of the Gaza Strip since 2007, after defeating Fatah’s efforts – the ruling party – to oust him in the 2006 election.
Abbas’s opponents, who were elected as four-year-olds in 2005, say they will not show much in a decade after being in close contact with Israel.
The European Union has provided millions of dollars to the PA over the years, and the United States and other countries have trained and prepared its military. The PA is seen around the world as a key partner in peacekeeping operations in the Middle East, which was represented more than a decade ago.
Human rights groups say Abbas always arrests opponents. An employee at Human Rights Watch said Banat’s arrest was “not wrong”.
In a series of posters and videos on his Facebook page, 43-year-old Banat spoke of the PA-Israeli alliance with Israel, which sees many Palestinians as unfaithful, and corrupt.
He criticized Abbas in April for to stop it would have been the first Palestinian election in 15 years. Banat was chosen to be the legitimate candidate in student-led cases and PA opponents.
The PA said it had set up a special committee to investigate Banat’s death. Preliminary forensic investigations confirmed that the cause of death was “unusual”.
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