EVERY DAY AMERICA DOESN'T DEMAND NATIONAL ELECTIONS IS A BLEMISH:

Claims that the Palestinian Authority's days are numbered are now heard frequently. This is especially so following the torture to death on 24 June of a popular Palestinian activist, Nizar Banat, 42, at the hands of PA security goons in Hebron (Al-Khalil).

The killing of Banat -- or "assassination" as some Palestinian rights groups describe it -- however, was nothing unusual. Torture in PA prisons is the modus operandi, through which Palestinian interrogators extract "confessions". Palestinian political prisoners in PA custody are usually divided into two main groups: those who are suspected by Israel of being involved in anti-Israeli occupation activities; and others who have been detained for voicing criticism of PA corruption or 

In a 2018 report by Human Rights Watch, the group spoke of "dozens of arrests" carried out by the PA "for critical posts on social media platforms". Banat slotted into this category perfectly, as he was one of the most persistent and outspoken of critics, whose many videos and social media posts exposed and embarrassed the PA leadership of Mahmoud Abbas and his ruling Fatah party. Unlike others, Banat named names and called for severe measures against those who squander Palestinian public funds and betray the causes of the Palestinian people.

Banat had been arrested by PA police several times in the past. In May, gunmen attacked his home, using live bullets, stun grenades and tear gas. He blamed the attack on Fatah.

His last social media campaign covered the scandal of the almost-expired Covid-19 vaccine doses which the PA received from Israel on 18 June. Because of public pressure by activists like Banat, the PA was forced to return the Israeli vaccines which, before then, were touted as a positive gesture by Israel's new Prime Minister, the far-right, ultra-nationalist Naftali Bennett.

READ: PA's Abbas dismisses senior official for criticising extrajudicial killing of Banat

When the PA men descended on Banat's house on 24 June, the ferocity of their violence was unprecedented. His cousin, Ammar, spoke of how nearly 25 PA security personnel raided the house, pepper-sprayed him while he was still in bed, and "began beating him with iron bars and wooden batons". After stripping him naked, they dragged him into a vehicle. An hour and a half later, the family learned of his fate through a WhatsApp group.

Despite initial denials, under pressure from thousands of protesters across the West Bank, the PA was forced to admit that Banat's death was "unnatural". The Justice Minister, Mohammed Al-Shalaldeh, told local television that an initial medical report indicated that Banat was subjected to physical violence.

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