THOUSANDS PROTEST DEATH OF CRITIC UNDER CUSTODY OF PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY

Protests erupted for the third day in a row in the West Bank over the weekend, following the death of a prominent critic of the Palestinian Authority (PA), Maher Abukhater and Sara Lemel reported for Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa).

Thousands of Palestinians demonstrated in the cities of Hebron and Ramallah. Thousands of people had also attended the funeral of 44-year-old Nizar Banat the previous day. Banat died on Thursday near Hebron in the course of a police arrest. The exact reasons for the death have not yet been clarified.

According to the Palestinian Independent Commission for Human Rights, an autopsy revealed that he had suffered massive blows, including to the head and neck. In addition, he had been sprayed in the face with pepper spray.

Security forces said they had a warrant for Banat's arrest for allegedly violating a Palestinian law against cybercrimes. Among other things, this restricts freedom of expression on social media.

According to Palestinian sources, the new protests on Saturday were mainly attended by members of the Islamist Hisb al-Tahrir (Liberation Party.) On banners, they demanded, among other things, an end to "the crimes of the autonomy authority" of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Demonstrators had also called for an end to the rule of the 85-year-old Abbas at previous protests.

WEEKLY FEATURE : PAL READY TO SOAR WITH PANDEMIC