RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories — The labor minister
in the
Palestinian Authority resigned Sunday, a member of his party said, as
security forces braced for further protests demanding president
Mahmoud Abbas step down.
اضافة اعلان
The decision comes after three days of heavy protests
against the Palestinian Authority (PA), triggered by the violent arrest and
death in custody of an activist.
Nizar Banat, a 43-year-old known for social media videos
denouncing alleged corruption within the PA, died on Thursday shortly after
security forces stormed his house and violently arrested him, his family said.
New protests are slated for Sunday evening in the
Israeli-occupied West Bank, in both Ramallah — the seat of the PA — and Banat's
hometown of Hebron.
The left-wing
Palestinian People's Party withdrew from the
Fatah-led PA government due to it "its lack of respect for laws and public
freedoms", party member Issam Abu Bakr said.
Nasri Abu Jaish, the labor minister and the People's Party
representative in the government, has therefore resigned, said Abu Bakr.
The PA has announced the opening of an investigation into
Banat's death, but it has done little to appease anger on the streets.
According to the autopsy, injuries indicated Banat had been
beaten on the head, chest, neck, legs and hands, with less than hour elapsing between
his arrest and his death, pathologist Samir Abu Zarzour said.
On Saturday, protesters in Ramallah hurled rocks at
Palestinian security forces, who opened fire with a barrage of tear gas
canisters, with reports of several injured.
Protesters called for 86-year-old Abbas to quit.
Banat had registered as a candidate in Palestinian
parliamentary elections, which had been set for May until Abbas postponed them
indefinitely.
The original mandate of Abbas expired in 2009, and he has
since governed by decree.
In May, Abbas declared that legislative and presidential
polls set for May and June respectively should not be held until Israel
guaranteed voting could take place in annexed east Jerusalem.
In addition to holding the presidency, Abbas is also head of
Fatah and president of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), recognized
internationally as representing the Palestinians.
But Fatah faces a growing challenge from its longtime
rivals, the militant Islamist organization Hamas, which rules the Palestinian
coastal enclave of Gaza.
The PA exercises limited powers over some 40 percent of the
West Bank, occupied by Israel since the Six-Day War of 1967.
Israel, which controls all access to the territory and
coordinates with the PA, directly administers the remaining 60 percent.
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