Palestinians attend funeral of PA critic Nizar Banat in Hebron | Fatah News

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Thousands of Palestinians flocked to Hebron, in the occupied West Bank, on Friday to attend the funeral of Nizar Banat, a vocal critic of the Palestinian Authority (PA), who died in the custody of PA forces on Thursday.

Mourners traveled from all over the occupied West Bank to attend the Banats’ funeral prayers at the Wasaya al-Rasool Mosque in Hebron and marched through the streets with his family and friends before he was buried. The funeral began with the transfer of Banats’ body to his family home for a final farewell.

People here are incredibly angry with the Palestinian Authority, said Al Jazeeras Stefanie Dekker, speaking from Hebron. They call for the fall of the regime and say they are under double bunking. They accuse the Palestinian Authority of being hand in hand with Israel.

The chants also included calls for the resignation of PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas, who has been president since 2005, technically ended his term in 2009, but continued to rule in the absence of new elections.

Banat, 43, intended to run in the parliamentary elections before they were called off earlier this year. He harshly criticized the Palestinian Authority, which rules parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and called on Western countries to cut aid to it because of its growing authoritarianism and human rights abuses.

The PA receives millions of dollars in foreign aid because it is recognized by the West to represent the Palestinian people.

Banat was in bed at his home in Dura, southern Hebron, when some two dozen PA officers broke into his home and started beating him in the early hours of Thursday morning, his family said. He was dragged along screaming, local media reported, and hit on the head with batons and pieces of metal.

After performing an autopsy, a Palestinian rights group said Banat received blows to the head, adding that the injuries indicated unnatural death.

Since Banats’ death, Palestinians have widely shared his previous writings and videos.

Protests against the PA

Videos shared on social media on Friday showed large crowds of mourners protesting the PA after Banats’ funeral.

The armed men present vowed to avenge the death of Banats of those who killed him.

Many have chanted leave, leave Abbas and the people want the overthrow of the regime as anger continues to mount against the Palestinian Authority.

Palestinians singing your blood will not be in vain at the funeral of Nizar Banats in occupied Hebron.

Calls for the Palestinian Authority to conduct a full investigation of itself are unsuccessful. There is no riddle as to how or why Nizar was murdered. Abbas must resign. pic.twitter.com/4A9kPvCcMF

Mohammed El-Kurd (@ m7mdkurd) June 25, 2021

In occupied East Jerusalem, hundreds of worshipers who attended Friday prayers inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque also protested the killing of Banat.

Hundreds of Palestinians protest the death of Nizar Banat in the courtyard of Al Aqsa and chant the departure of PA President Abbas. pic.twitter.com/rOvLrmM7Hb

Alaa Daraghme (laAlaaDaraghme) June 25, 2021

A statement from the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) said the investigation into Banats’ death will be transparent and impartial, and the results of the investigation will be announced as soon as possible.

Hours after Banats’ death on Thursday, large crowds of Palestinians also took to the streets of the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah to protest his assassination, but were greeted with batons and tear gas by dozens of PA forces dressed in riot gear.

The people want the fall of the regime, chanted the demonstrators in the main al-Manara square of the city while others shouted, traitors, traitors to the security forces.

Frank criticism

Banat was a free speech advocate and a vocal critic of alleged PA corruption and security coordination with the IDF. He was known for posting his opinions on social media, with more than 100,000 people following his Facebook page.

He accused prominent Fatah supporters of waging an incitement campaign against him after being accused of collaborating with Israel, a serious allegation amounting to treason. He denied the accusation.

He also accused Palestinian Authority forces of perpetrating the torture of political dissidents inside his prisons.

Banat was a former member of the Fatah movement, the PA’s de facto ruling party. In the legislative elections initially scheduled for May, Banat campaigned as a candidate for the Freedom and Dignity list party.

In April, Abbas called off the elections, the first to be scheduled for 15 years, apparently because Israel would not let Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem vote for the new Palestinian leadership. East Jerusalem is seen as the capital of a future Palestinian state as part of a two-state solution.

Many have argued, however, that the real motive was Abbass’s fear that the fractured Fatah party would suffer another humiliating defeat to Hamas, the group that rules the Gaza Strip.

A recent poll showed plummeting support for Abbas, who faces both declining popularity and growing opposition within his party.

Western countries continue to view Abbas as a key partner in the long-dying peace process, and the European Union (EU) has provided hundreds of millions of dollars in direct aid to the Palestinian Authority over the years.

Repression

According to his family, Banat had been imprisoned by the Palestinian Authority eight times each time for several months.

In early May, gunmen fired bullets, stun grenades and tear gas at Banats’ house, where his wife and their children were staying. No one appears to have been injured in the incident.

He blamed the attack on Fatah, which dominates the security forces.

Europeans should know that they are indirectly funding this organization, Banat told The Associated Press in May, in an interview in a place where he was hiding.

They shoot in the air during Fatah celebrations, they shoot in the air when Fatah leaders are fighting, and they shoot at people who oppose Fatah.

Last November, the EU denounced the arrest of Banats at the time after he published a video criticizing Palestinian politicians.

On Thursday, United Nations Middle East Peace Envoy Tor Wennesland tweeted that he was alarmed and saddened by Banats’ death.

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