Trial Over Killing of Activist Drives Dissent Against Palestinian Leadership Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas faces growing pressure after repeatedly delaying elections Thomas Grove
RAMALLAH, West Bank—A Palestinian military court began the trial of 14 members of its security forces who are accused of beating to death a critic of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, in a case that has highlighted what activists say is the growing reach of paramilitary troops in the West Bank and a creeping culture of authoritarianism.
Nizar Banat’s death in June sparked widespread protests in Ramallah and Hebron, where he lived.
The 42-year-old was well known for his videos on Facebook and YouTube, where he frequently berated Mr. Abbas and a government that had increasingly become unaccountable in the eyes of many Palestinians. Earlier this year, the Palestinian Authority that runs the West Bank canceled elections after opinion polls suggested the ruling Fatah Party would lose.
Other videos veered into attacks on Israel and what Mr. Banat called Western-style feminism. Many of the videos drew thousands of views.
Mr. Banat’s death, allegedly at the hands of security forces, was caught on security cameras outside the house where he was staying and went viral, further inflaming the antigovernment mood in the territory and triggering a short-lived protest movement before a brutal clampdown. Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza and is regarded as a terror group by the U.S. and Israel, tried to expand its own influence in the West Bank during the chaos, though with limited success.
The current trial appears unlikely to assuage the anger over Mr. Banat’s death. His family didn’t appear at the courthouse in Ramallah where proceedings took place. They said their absence was a protest against a trial they said was meant to lay the blame on low-level officers and protect senior Palestinian Authority officials who had allegedly issued orders to drag Mr. Banat out into the street and beat him.
“We can’t be under the same roof with the killers of Nizar but moreover the proceedings are incomplete without those who actually issued the officers; those on trial are only scapegoats,” said Ghassan Banat, the victim’s brother.
Before the hearing began, 14 men accused of the killing were led into a black-barred cage in the courtroom. They stated their names when asked—the first time they had been publicly identified—but proceedings were cut short when their lawyer failed to appear. The next hearing was set for Sept. 21.
The lawyer for Mr. Banat’s family said the family could withdraw from the judicial process entirely if the defense for the accused drags out the trial.
Palestinian officials have presented Mr. Banat’s death, and the crackdown on protesters, as isolated incidents and said that they are committed to civil liberties. Critics say the events are part of a worrisome trend that has eroded trust in the Palestinian Authority.
Besides canceling the elections, authorities are struggling to address the economic fallout from successive Covid-19 lockdowns and are facing growing political pressure from the U.S. and European Union over the arrest of opposition activists.
Ghassan Khatib, the founder of the Jerusalem Media and Communication Center, a polling agency, and a vice president at Birzeit University in the West Bank, said the Fatah Party has been reluctant to offer up senior officials to public questioning over Mr. Banat’s killing because of the party’s internal divisions under the weakening leadership of Mr. Abbas, who is now 85.
Some Palestinians fear dissatisfaction with the leadership in the West Bank is turning into a crisis.
“The Palestinian public believes the deterioration in legitimacy and the split between Gaza and West Bank weakens the Palestinians vis-à-vis Israel,” said Mr. Khatib.
The killing of Mr. Banat has also put a spotlight on the Palestinian Authority’s security forces, which the U.S. helped train. The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem said in June that it was disturbed by reports of police violence against protesters.
Without an open investigation into Mr. Banat’s death, some Palestinians are turning to the semiofficial Independent Commission for Human Rights which is carrying out a parallel investigation into the death. However, the commission’s efforts have been stymied by officials in the security services.
“They don’t cooperate so how can we investigate, ask questions up the chain of command?” said Issam Aruri, the organization’s commissioner general.
Outside the courtroom Tuesday, opposition factions handed out a joint statement and vowed to keep close watch on the proceedings, suggesting Mr. Banat’s death would continue to be a lightning rod for dissent against Mr. Abbas, who hasn’t faced an election since 2005 after repeatedly extending his term.
“We hold the highest political and security echelons accountable for the assassination of the martyr Nizar Banat,” the statement said. “We will continue to work with the family and its lawyers and with the popular constituents to achieve justice for Nizar.”
Mr. Banat’s family, meanwhile, said it had received permission on Tuesday to bury his body, after a prolonged autopsy determined he had died from cardiorespiratory failure, traumatic shock and multiple injuries.
Comments are closed.
