‘Bullets and batons’: Palestinian Authority beats back dissent

Palestinian activists are regularly arrested and beaten by the PA in the West Bank, Human Rights Watch says.

Ramallah, Occupied West Bank – The West Bank is on the verge of a serious rebellion against the Palestinian Authority (PA) as it desperately fights for political survival and is determined to cling to power at any cost, a leading Palestinian human rights defender warned. For four days, Palestinians have been taking to the streets of main cities in the Israeli-occupied West Bank protesting against the death of Nizar Banat, a political activist and big critic of the PA, who was beaten by PA security officers – presumed to be members of the Preventive Security Service – who raided his home in the Hebron area of the southern West Bank. “We’ve reached the last chapter of the transitional period with the PA and they know that the only way they can stay in power is with bullets and batons,” said Shawan Jabarin, the director of the Al-Haq human rights organisation in Ramallah.