Nizar Banat

Nizar Banat (نزار بنات) was a prominent Palestinian political activist from Dura, near Hebron, and a member of the Freedom and Dignity list which was formed to contest the cancelled 2021 legislative elections.

Banat was a vocal critic of the Palestinian Authority (PA), accusing it of corruption, authoritarianism and human rights abuses. He also criticised the government’s handling of covid-19 vaccinations. After President Mahmoud Abbas cancelled national elections, his electoral list called on the European Union to cease funding the PA.

On 24 June 2021 he was arrested and beaten to death by PA security forces. Hebron’s Governor Jibreen al-Bakri said the public prosecution had issued a summons for Banat and that “during the arrest his health deteriorated”. Prior to this, he had been repeatedly detained by the PA. In May, gunmen fired bullets, stun grenades and tear gas at his home, which he blamed on the ruling Fatah party, forcing him to move to the H2 area of Hebron under Israeli control.