In a statement, the PA governor of Hebron confirmed that he had died during an operation to arrest Banat. “During the arrest his health deteriorated, and he was immediately taken to Hebron Hospital and the doctors examined him, it appeared that the civilian was already dead,” said Jibrin al-Bakri.
Banat, 45, a carpenter by trade, had been a vocal opponent of the PA for many years, repeatedly accusing him of corruption. In his most recent Facebook post he slammed PA’s Prime Minister Mohamed Shtayyeh over a botched swap agreement with Israel that would have transferred at least one million Pfizer vaccines to PA.
Last November, Banat spent several days in PA’s detention after posting a video on social media expressing sharp criticism of PA leaders. He was arrested under PA’s cybercrime law passed in 2017, which human rights groups say has severe restrictions on freedom of expression online.
Issa Amro, a high-profile Palestinian critic from PA, and also from Hebron, told CNN: “We fear being killed by lawless Palestinian security forces. It is clear the decision is to get rid of the opposition. And workers at any cost.”
Amro, who recently met US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in Ramallah, was himself arrested two days ago by PA forces after criticizing PA leaders on social media.
Hanan Ashrawi, a former national executive committee member of the Palestine Liberation Organization, called Banat’s death an “alarming development” and warned of growing threats to Palestinian civil society. Ashrawi wrote on Twitter: “The deteriorating state of affairs has gone out of control for some time… Accountability is essential.”
The EU’s representative office for the Palestinians said it was “shocked and saddened” by the news of Banat’s death and called for an immediate “full independent and transparent investigation”.
Earlier this year, Banat formed the Freedom and Dignity Party to contest the PA parliamentary election, which, due to take place last month, was canceled by PA president Mahmood Abbas.
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