Thousands Protest Banat Death, US State Department ‘Deeply Disturbed’

Thousands of protesters filled the streets in Hebron and Ramallah to protest the death of Nizar Banat, a critic of the Palestinian Authority who died after being arrested in his Hebron home by the Palestinian Security Services.

An autopsy showed Banat died of injuries sustained from being beaten during his arrest very early Thursday morning and while in custody.

Protesters chanted: “No to police state” and “We hold the president of the Palestinian Authority responsible for Banat’s assassination.” Hamas called for a mass participation in Banat’s funeral.

The US State Department on Thursday said in a statement that it was  “deeply disturbed” by Banat’s death. “We are deeply disturbed by the death of Palestinian activist Nizar Banat and the information that has been reported regarding the circumstances of his death.  We offer our sincere condolences to his family and community.  We urge the Palestinian Authority to conduct a thorough and transparent investigation and to ensure full accountability in this case.  We have serious concerns about Palestinian Authority restrictions on the exercise of freedom of expression by Palestinians and harassment of civil society activists and organizations,” said the statement attributed to State Department spokesman Ned Price.