Occupied Thoughts: Why Palestinians are Rising Up Against the Palestinian Authority

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Occupied Thoughts: Why Palestinians are Turning Against the Palestinian Authority

Occupied Thoughts by FMEP · Why Palestinians are Rising Up Against the Palestinian Authority
Occupied Thoughts by FMEP · Why Palestinians are Rising Up Against the Palestinian Authority
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Recorded June 29, 2021

Last week, a Palestinian political activist, Nizar Banat, was arrested by the Palestinian Authority and died soon after in their custody. His family accuses the PA of murdering him. Following his death, Palestinians in the West Bank gathered for protests, and the PA responded with violence and repression. According to the Palestinian human rights organization Al Haq, PA security forces – both in uniform and dressed as civilians – attacked protesters with batons and tear gas, attacked several journalists, and attacked human rights researchers who were monitoring the protests and confiscated their phones. In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, Peter Beinart interviews political organizer and activist Fadi Quran about why Palestinians are rising up against the Palestinian Authority.

After Nizar Banat was killed, Fadi Quran tweeted this: 
“A tragedy for Palestine. Nizar Banat, a leading critic of the Palestinian Authority, a candidate for the legislative council, and a loving father was arrested by the PA security forces this AM, and was later announced dead at the Hebron Hospital. PA security forces had arrested, threatened, and beaten him over the last years. They had fired live bullets at his home with his wife and kids inside.  President Abbas is running an authoritarian regime and his forces are sending a threatening message to all critics. I’ve known Nizar for 10 years. He loved Palestine endlessly. He was a beautiful speaker, who mastered arabic poetry. He was a brave soul who, despite arrests and abuse would never allow anyone to break him. Nizar’s family said he was beaten badly by 20 members of Mahmoud Abbas’ security forces when he was arrested. President Abbas has proven again he is nothing but a subcontractor for Israel’s occupation. This murder will not pass.”

Bios: 

Fadi Quran is a Campaigns Director at Avaaz, a 60-million person strong global movement mobilizing for change. He leads Avaaz MENA human rights work, as well as Avaaz’s counter disinformation efforts. Fadi is a leading community organizer in Palestine, and previously worked as UN Advocacy officer at Al-Haq. Fadi has appeared in the New York Times, NPR, the Guardian, the AFP, TIME Magazine, the Daily Telegraph, and other media outlets. You can follow him on Twitter @fadiquran.

Peter Beinart is a Non-Resident Fellow at the Foundation for Middle East Peace. He is also a Professor of Journalism and Political Science at the City University of New York, a Contributing opinion writer at the New York Times, an Editor-at-Large at Jewish Currents, and a CNN Political Commentator.