After the death of the militant, the Palestinians protested against Mahmoud Abbas | Daily headlines Occupied West Bank News

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During the third day of protests in the occupied West Bank, angry demonstrators clashed with Palestinian security forces. The death of the outspoken critic A member of the Palestinian Authority (PA) who died while in Palestinian Authority (PA) custody.

Two days after Abbas’ forces arrested the militant Nizar Banat, hundreds of people gathered in Ramallah City, the headquarters of the Palestinian Authority, chanting slogans against President Mahmoud Abbas.

According to Banat’s family, two dozen police officers beat him on the head with truncheons and metal rods. A few hours after his arrest, the news of his death was confirmed.

Protesters holding Palestinian flags and Banat posters called for 85-year-old Abbas to step down. “The people want to overthrow the regime,” they chanted, and “step down, Abbas!”

Protester Esmat Mansour told Reuters: “We hope to carry out comprehensive political reforms that truly reflect the interests of the people.”

When the protesters began marching to Abbas’s office compound, a group of presidential supporters prevented the rally, prompting the two sides to throw stones at each other. Palestinian security forces in riot gear fired tear gas and stun grenades at the protesters, causing many to flee for cover.

Later, Abbas’s supporters gathered for an anti-rally, and dozens of people chanted: “People want Abbas to be president.”

At least five journalists — four of them women — were injured in the protest, including Shata Hamad from Middle East Eye, who was hit in the face by a tear gas canister.

Hamad said that the Palestinian Authority forces “deliberately targeted” journalists and used plainclothes police to attack and arrest protesters.

According to medical sources, at least 20 people were injured in the conflict.

In a statement, Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem stated that the Palestinian Authority is taking “criminal actions.”

“The Palestinian Authority’s brutal suppression of demonstrators in the occupied West Bank is a criminal act and a flagrant violation of all laws and humanitarian norms,” he said, adding that the Palestinian Authority’s actions violated “national and morality”. consider”.

On Thursday, demonstrators set fire, blocked the streets of the city centre, and clashed with riot police in Ramallah.

Palestinians also chanted against the Palestinian Authority on Friday Banat’s funeral In Hebron, masked gunmen shot into the air.

After praying at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem on Friday, hundreds of people also rallied against Abbas.

“Subcontractor in Israel”

At the time of the suppression, the internationally supported Palestinian Authority faced strong opposition from more and more Palestinians, who believed it was corrupt and increasingly authoritarian. This is a manifestation of the three-year peace process and is far from achieving Palestinian independence.

Palestinian protesters accused the Palestinian Authority of being a subcontractor of the Israeli occupation.

The Palestinian Authority controls parts of the West Bank occupied by Israel, while its rival Hamas Group has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007. It defeated Fatah, the political party that dominates the Palestinian Authority, after being elected in 2006. Its attempt to remove from power.

Critics of Abbas, who was elected to a four-year term in 2005, say that after more than a decade of close security coordination with Israel, he has shown little.

Over the years, the European Union has provided hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to the Palestinian Authority, and the United States and other countries have also trained and equipped the Palestinian Authority’s security forces. The Palestinian Authority is regarded internationally as an important partner in reviving the Middle East peace process, which came to a halt more than a decade ago.

Palestinian plainclothes security personnel detain a protester in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah [Abbas Momani/ AFP]

Human rights groups say Abbas frequently arrests critics. A Human Rights Watch official said that Banat’s arrest was “not unusual.”

In a series of posts and live videos posted on his Facebook page, the 43-year-old Banat talked about the close security coordination between the Palestinian Authority and Israel, which was regarded by many Palestinians as betrayal and corrupt.

He attacked Abbas in April cancel This will be the first Palestinian election in 15 years. Barnat is a candidate made up of academics and opponents of the Palestinian Authority.

The Palestinian Authority said it had set up a high-level committee to investigate the cause of Banat’s death. The preliminary forensic examination concluded that the cause of death was “unnatural”.



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