“In the middle of the night, 27 officers came in through the window,” said his widow Jihan Banat. “They sprayed pepper spray in his mouth and face. Then they hit his head, legs and chest with metal sticks. And they didn’t even have an arrest warrant.”
The Palestinian government offered its condolences to Banat’s family and launched an investigation into the activist’s death. But his widow does not believe that the culprits will be caught: “In the end, the authorities themselves are responsible.”
After Banat’s death, thousands of Palestinians took to the streets. For many, it was the straw that broke the camel’s back, says noted Palestinian pollster Khalil Shikaki: “Before Banat’s death, President Abbas’s popularity was lower than ever. Now the anger and frustration are probably even greater.”
The dissatisfaction is mainly due to the cancellation of the elections, which would take place this year for the first time in 15 years. Many Palestinians are also disappointed with Abbas’s aloofness during the conflict between Israel and Hamas earlier this year. More than 250 people were killed on the Palestinian side.
“Many Palestinians no longer believe that Abbas stands up for their rights and for the city of Jerusalem,” the pollster said. “Many believe he is working far too closely with Israel no matter what, even if Israel bombs the Gaza Strip.”
Since the last escalation with Israel, Hamas has been gaining popularity at the expense of President Abbas. Hamas, which has been declared a terrorist organization by the European Union and the United States, is in charge of the Gaza Strip.
Abbas, 85, heads the Palestinian Authority (PA), which was established in the 1990s as part of the peace process with Israel. Many hoped it would be a first step towards a Palestinian state and a peace deal.
But it never came to that and the peace process stalled. Yet the PA still has some form of self-government over parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
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