Palestinians outraged after activist ‘beaten to death’ in PA custody

In early May, gunmen fired bullets, stun grenades and tear gas at Nizar Banat’s home near the West Bank city of Hebron. (Reuters)
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Updated 24 June 2021
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Palestinians outraged after activist ‘beaten to death’ in PA custody

  • UN, EU lead international condemnation of Nizar Banat’s death; independent committee formed to investigate

AMMAN: Nizar Banat, a vocal critic of the Palestinian Authority (PA), died on Thursday after security forces stormed his house and arrested him. Banat’s family said he was stripped and suffered a sustained beating during which he was hit with an object used to break a window. His death triggered angry protests in the occupied West Bank.

Banat, 43, was a human rights activist from Hebron, known for the videos he posted on Facebook in which he denounced alleged corruption in the PA.

Authorities in Hebron governorate said his “health deteriorated” when police arrived to arrest him early on Thursday. He was taken to hospital but pronounced dead, they added.

Banat’s cousin, Hussein Banat, told news agency Agence France-Presse that about 25 armed men burst into the activist’s house while he was sleeping and used pepper spray to subdue him.

“A large force entered and aggressively took off all of his clothes then beat him for eight minutes straight," he said.

Speaking to Al-Quds news website, Banat’s family accused security forces of “hitting him on the head with wooden sticks and bits of iron” and “deliberately murdering” him. They said he was bleeding as he was taken to a police vehicle.

The official cause of the death remains unclear and his relatives have yet to see his body, despite checking with all local hospitals. They said they will only accept the results of an investigation into the death if it is carried out by an independent coroner.

The EU said it was “shocked and saddened” by the incident and called for a “full, independent and transparent investigation.”

Following demands by the UN, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh ordered the formation of an investigation committee that includes the PA’s Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR). The commission said it will work with independent Palestinian rights group Al-Haq to conduct the inquiry.

In a message posted on Twitter, Al-Haq said it and the ICHR have, with the blessing of the Banat family, appointed a doctor to carry out an official autopsy.

Maj. Gen. Talal Dweikat, a spokesman for the Palestinian security forces, said the government is ready to implement any recommendations from the investigating committee.

The announcement of the inquiry did little to calm the anger among Palestinians about what they see as the latest example of the increasingly autocratic rule of President Mahmoud Abbas.

“Abbas, go,” protesters chanted as they held portraits of Banat. Security forces fired tear gas into the crowds; one person was hit in the face by a canister and hospitalized.

The Palestinian Coalition for Accountability and Integrity (AMAN) described the assault and excessive use of force on Banat as “a flagrant violation of the human rights and dignity of Palestinian citizens and provisions of the Palestinian Basic Law.”

The organization also called for the investigative committee to “gain the approval of the victim’s family” and stressed the need to “publish the results of the inquiry with all due transparency to the Palestinian public.”

AMAN criticized the concentration of power in the hands of a single absolute authority and called for the immediate restoration of the right of Palestinian citizens to political participation by holding a general election.

Ahmad Budeiri, a journalist in Jerusalem, told Arab News that Banat was a carpenter by trade who had no interest other than improving the lives of the Palestinian people.

“He sought reform not violence, yet he was repeatedly beaten, he was arrested many times even though he never committed a crime, and he was threatened with assassination,” he said. “He loved the homeland and wanted the best for Palestine.”

Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, said it holds Abbas “fully responsible for the repercussions” of Banat’s death.


Rubio says Syria could be weeks away from ‘full-scale civil war’

Updated 9 sec ago
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Rubio says Syria could be weeks away from ‘full-scale civil war’

  • US Secretary of State says Syria is weeks away from a potential collapse and splitting up

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Tuesday that Syria could be weeks away from a fresh civil war of “epic proportions,” as he called for support to the transitional leadership.
“It is our assessment that, frankly, the transitional authority, given the challenges they’re facing, are maybe weeks — not many months — away from potential collapse and a full-scale civil war of epic proportions, basically the country splitting up,” Rubio told a US Senate hearing.
The top US diplomat spoke after a series of bloody attacks on the Alawite and Druze minorities in Syria, where Islamist-led fighters in December toppled Bashar Assad in a lightning offensive after a brutal civil war that began in 2011.
US President Donald Trump last week on a visit to Saudi Arabia announced a lifting of Assad-era sanctions and met with the guerrilla leader who is now Syria’s transitional president, Ahmed Al-Sharaa.
Sharaa, clad in a suit and complimented by Trump as a “young, attractive guy,” was until recently on a US wanted list over jihadist connections.
Rubio quipped: “The transitional authority figures, they didn’t pass their background check with the FBI.”
But he added: “If we engage them, it may work out, it may not work out. If we did not engage them, it was guaranteed to not work out.”
Rubio, who also met with Syria’s foreign minister in Turkiye on Thursday, blamed the renewed violence on the legacy of Assad, a largely secular leader who hailed from the Alawite sect.
“They are dealing with deep internal distrust in that country, because Assad deliberately pitted these groups against each other,” Rubio said.


UAE foreign minister holds phone call with his new German counterpart

Updated 32 min 6 sec ago
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UAE foreign minister holds phone call with his new German counterpart

  • Ministers discussed strengthening the UAE-Germany strategic partnership and enhancing cooperation in key sectors

LONDON: UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan congratulated Johann Wadephul on his appointment as Germany’s minister of foreign affairs.

The two ministers discussed strengthening the UAE-Germany strategic partnership and enhancing cooperation in key sectors during a phone call on Tuesday, the Emirates News Agency reported.

Sheikh Abdullah hoped to achieve mutual prosperity between Germany and the UAE, whose diplomatic ties were established in 1972.

In 2023, the UAE became one of Germany’s most important business partners in the Middle East, with a bilateral trade volume exceeding €14 billion ($15.768 billion). According to Germany’s Federal Foreign Office report, German imports from the UAE experienced a 150 percent increase in the same year.

Wadephul, a veteran conservative and defense policy expert, assumed the foreign minister’s office on May 7 in Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s government.


Jordan and Syria agree on roadmap to cooperate in energy, transport

Updated 58 min 42 sec ago
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Jordan and Syria agree on roadmap to cooperate in energy, transport

  • Ayman Safadi says Jordan is Syria’s gateway to the Arabian Gulf, while Syria acts as Jordan’s gateway to Europe
  • Asaad Al-Shaibani: Syrians are tired after 14 years of war, and the country wants to focus on maintaining security and stability

LONDON: Ayman Safadi, Jordan’s minister of foreign affairs, on Tuesday discussed strengthening cooperation during a meeting in Damascus with his Syrian counterpart, Asaad Al-Shaibani.

The Jordanian delegation included the ministers of water, industry, trade, energy, and transport, who discussed coordination with their Syrian counterparts and signed an agreement to establish a coordination council between the two countries.

Al-Shaibani said that diplomatic efforts resulted in the lifting of European sanctions shortly after the US announced it would lift sanctions on the country. He added that lifting sanctions on Syria would enhance cooperation with Jordan in transport and energy, positively affecting the region.

The minister said Syria shares borders with Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, and aims to maintain its security while addressing threats, as its security would affect neighboring countries.

Al-Shaibani and Safadi opposed the Israeli intervention in Syria after the change of rule in Damascus in December 2024, the SANA agency reported.

Al-Shaibani said Syrians are tired after 14 years of war, and the country wants to focus on maintaining security and stability while finding solutions for vital issues such as energy and electricity.

Safadi and Al-Shaibani have agreed to establish a roadmap to enhance cooperation in energy, transport, water, and health, SANA added.

Safadi said that Jordan is Syria’s gateway to the Arabian Gulf and the Arab world, while Syria is Jordan’s gateway to Europe, and affirmed Amman’s support for Syria.


Lebanon has ‘more’ to do on Hezbollah disarming: US deputy envoy

Updated 20 May 2025
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Lebanon has ‘more’ to do on Hezbollah disarming: US deputy envoy

  • Lebanese authorities “have done more in the last six months than they probably have in the last 15 years,” Ortagus said
  • “However, there’s a lot more to go“

DOHA: Lebanon still has “more” to do in disarming Hezbollah following the war between the Iran-backed group and Israel, Deputy US Envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus said Tuesday.

As part of a deal agreed to end 14 months of fighting last November, Hezbollah was to withdraw its fighters north of Lebanon’s Litani River, while Israel was to pull all its forces from south Lebanon.

The Lebanese army has been deploying in the area as Israeli forces have withdrawn and has been dismantling Hezbollah infrastructure there.

UN peacekeepers are also present in the area and play a role in supervising the ceasefire.

Lebanese authorities “have done more in the last six months than they probably have in the last 15 years,” Ortagus said at the Qatar Economic Forum referring to efforts to disarm Hezbollah.

“However, there’s a lot more to go,” she added.

“We in the United States have called for the full disarmament of Hezbollah. And so that doesn’t mean just south of the Litani. That means in the whole country,” Ortagus said at the Qatar conference calling on Lebanese politicians “to make a decision.”

It has also continued to launch raids on its neighbor despite the ceasefire.

Last month, President Joseph Aoun said the army was deployed in more than 85 percent of Lebanon’s south, and that the sole obstacle to full control across the frontier area was “Israel’s occupation of five border positions.”

In defiance of the ceasefire agreement, the Israeli military continues to occupy five positions close to the border that it has declared to be strategic.


Drought-hit Syrian farmers hope sanctions reprieve will restore agriculture

Updated 20 May 2025
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Drought-hit Syrian farmers hope sanctions reprieve will restore agriculture

ALEPPO: Severe drought in Syria this year could lead to the failure of an estimated 75 percent of local wheat crops, according to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, threatening the food security of millions of people.
Toni Ettel, the FAO’s representative in Syria, told Reuters the agency anticipated a “food shortage of 2.7 million tons of wheat for this year, which is sufficient to feed 16.3 million people over one year.”
Under former President Bashar Assad, Damascus depended on wheat imports from Russia to support a bread subsidy program during past droughts.
Wheat farmers like Asaad Ezzeldin, 45, have seen their crops fail due to the drought. It has further strained Syria’s beleaguered agricultural sector that suffered from fighting and heavy bombardment during 13 years of civil war.
“Agriculture in Aleppo’s northern countryside has been hit because of the lack of irrigation. There is no rainfall,” he said.
Moscow, a staunch ally of Assad, suspended wheat supplies to Syria soon after Islamist rebels toppled him, citing uncertainties about the country’s new authorities.
In a surprise announcement last week, US President Donald Trump said he would order the lifting of all sanctions on Syria. Washington is likely to begin providing some sanctions relief in the coming weeks.
The flow of funds could revive the agriculture sector, providing much-needed technologies for irrigation and infrastructure renewal, Ettel said.
Unable to buy wheat and fuel, Syria’s new government had lobbied for a lifting of the sanctions that for years isolated the Syrian economy and made it dependent on Russia and Iran.
Syria’s agriculture ministry did not reply to a request for comment.
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Tuesday she hoped ministers would reach an agreement on lifting EU economic sanctions on Syria. The EU has already eased sanctions related to energy, transport and reconstruction, and associated financial transactions, but some argued this was not enough to support its political transition and economic recovery.