Palestinians shaken but steadfast as PA suppresses dissent

Palestinians say they are determined to keep up protests against the Palestinian Authority after security forces attacked a sit-in outside a police station last week

RAMALLAH, West Bank -- Nearly two weeks after he was severely beaten by Palestinian security forces, Akil Awawdeh is still short of breath, still shielding his bruised chest with his hand and still haunted by the screams inside the police station. “Never in my life have I seen such brutality,” said Awawdeh, a local radio reporter who has been covering Mideast unrest for more than a decade. "The sound of people screaming inside the police station, to this day I still hear it. It echoes in my head ... I can’t forget.” He was among several people who were beaten and detained at a police station on July 5, in one of the most violent incidents in weeks of protests against the Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The demonstrations were sparked by the death of Nizar Banat, an outspoken critic of the PA who died shortly after being violently arrested by Palestinian security forces last month. The PA is widely seen as corrupt and increasingly authoritarian, and it has faced mounting dissent since calling off the first elections in 15 years in April.