Family of slain Palestinian activist calls for international probe

RAMALLAH, Palestine

The family of Palestinian activist and critic Nizar Banat, who died last week in custody after being arrested by Palestinian security forces, called Monday for the establishment of international and local investigative committees to look into the circumstances of his death.

At a press conference in the town of Dura in Hebron governorate in the southern West Bank, Khalil Banat, Nizar's father, said the family rejects the Palestinian government’s probe, adding "all its parties are from the Palestinian Authority and this is the law of jungle."

Khalil held Palestinian Authority officials including Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh and the chief of the Palestinian Preventive Security Service responsible for his son's death.

On Saturday, the spokesperson for the Palestinian Security Services, Talal Dweikat, said the government probe committee started its work to identify the conditions of Banat's death and will soon announce its results.

The death of Banat, 44, on Thursday sparked widespread outrage among Palestinians who rallied in various cities in the West Bank, where the Palestinian security forces brutally attacked protesters.

*Ahmed Asmar contributed to this report from Ankara