U.S. Support Is Keeping the Undemocratic Palestinian Authority Alive

Demonstrators hold up images of late Palestinian activist Nizar Banat, who died in late June during a violent arrest by Palestinian Authority security forces, as they march during a protest in the city of Hebron in the occupied West Bank on July 2, 2021. MOSAB SHAWER/AFP via Getty Images

At 3:30 a.m. on June 24, Nizar Banat, an outspoken critic of the Palestinian Authority (PA), was arrested at his home in the city of Hebron in the West Bank. According to his family, more than two dozen PA security officers raided the residence and severely beat Banat with metal clubs and rifle butts in front of his wife and young children before taking him into custody. Less than three hours later, he was pronounced dead.

The incident has ignited a firestorm of popular indignation against the PA and its president, Mahmoud Abbas, with large street demonstrations held in Hebron and Ramallah—the seat of the PA—calling for his ouster. Security forces have responded to the protests with further violence but have been unable to quell the mounting discontent with the Abbas-led authority.