Palestinian minister rejects threat over death of activist | New Israel-Palestine Conflict

Nasri Abu Jaish said Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh twice refused to accept his resignation and led him to remain in government.

The Palestinian Authority labor minister said in a statement on Sunday that he would resign in the wake of protests over the death of an arrested activist.

Nasri Abu Jaish, also a representative of the ruling left-wing People’s Party, said he would leave the Fatah-led PA in late June “for lack of respect for the law and public liberties”.

Abu Jaish announced that he was awaiting his resignation as protesters called for the resignation of President Mahmoud Abbas, following the violent arrest and death of activist Nizar Banat.

Banat, a 43-year-old man known for his social media videos denouncing PA’s alleged corruption, he died on June 24, security forces attacked the house and dragged it out shortly after.

But on Sunday, Abu Jaish said in a statement that Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh had twice refused to accept his resignation, leading him to “continue as a labor minister in the Palestinian government.”

The PA announced it would open an investigation into Banat’s death, but protesters continued to protest a few weeks later.

On Sunday, hundreds of people in the West Bank-occupied city of Ramallah demanded Abbas’s resignation, denouncing the strength of Palestinian security in defeating recent protests.

“We will continue to stand in the streets until justice is achieved,” protester Maher Akhras said on Sunday, accusing the PA of “killing Nizar Banat and attacking protesters”.

Hundreds protested in Ramallah, demanding justice #NizarBanat, PA and falling elections. On the banner, a photograph of President Abbas, from the Fatah exhibition, describing him as a symbol of legitimacy … President Abbas has been effective in order for the past 14 years. pic.twitter.com/HfvkLz6mfv

– Rania Zabaneh (@RZabaneh) July 11, 2021

Banat ran as a candidate in the May Palestinian parliamentary elections until Abbas indefinitely postponed them.

A doctor who performed an autopsy on Samir Abu Zarzour said the wounds on Banat’s body had hit him in the head, chest, neck, legs and hands, stopping him for less than an hour until his arrest and death.

Demonstrators expressed outrage that there was no democratic process in the territory.

“We have the right to stand for election, to elect our representatives and to elect a president,” protester Omar Assaf said.

“We need to rebuild the entire Palestinian political system.”

Protests in Ramallah over the death of Banat have continued for several weeks.