Palestinians Protest Against Abbas After Activist’s Death

Hundreds of Palestinians protested against President Mahmoud Abbas after Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem a day after an outspoken critic Nizar Banat died in the custody of Palestinian security forces.

Banat had harshly criticized the Palestinian Authority over its corruption and misrule in a series of Facebook videos.

His family says security forces raided the home where he was staying early Thursday and beat him with batons before dragging him away.

Palestinians also chanted against the PA at his funeral in Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and masked gunmen fired shots into the air.

Calls had circulated for protests across the territory and late Thursday, demonstrators burned tires, blocked roads and clashed with riot police in the West Bank city of Ramallah, where the PA is headquartered.

The Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the West Bank under agreements reached with Israel in the 1990s, faces a major crisis of legitimacy after Abbas called off the first elections in 15 years in April.

Abbas was sidelined during last month’s Gaza war and his popularity has plummeted as support for Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers has grown.

His forces coordinate security with Israeli troops, targeting Hamas and other armed groups that threaten both. The policy is deeply unpopular with Palestinians, many of whom view it as collaboration with an occupying power.

Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department and the European Union’s representative to the Palestinians each called for an investigation into Banat’s death and expressed concerns about the PA’s restrictions on freedom of expression and harassment of activists.