Palestinian prisoner ‘beaten to death’ in police custody
A Palestinian prisoner was beaten to death early on Tuesday while in Palestinian police custody after being arrested in the northern West Bank city of Nablus, according to local officials.
Nablus' governor, Akram Rujoub, named the dead man as Abu al-Izz Halaweh, the highest ranking member in Nablus of the Palestinian movement Fatah's military wing, the Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.
He was killed after being arrested in a “precise” operation in Nablus, according to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.
Halaweh was suspected of being behind a recent shooting attack that killed two Palestinian Authority police officers.
Rujoub said Halaweh was arrested and taken to the Juneid security compound, where he, according to Palestinian security services spokesman Adnan Dmeiri, “started to shout and swear at the security officers who started to attack him”.
Dmeiri said senior officers tried in vain to stop lower-ranking officers from attacking Halaweh. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
A photo of Halaweh bearing severe injuries was later shared on Twitter.
The Palestinian prime minister, Rami Hamdallah, announced later that a special committee would be formed to investigate the death.
Halaweh was one of the Palestinian Authority’s “most wanted” criminals, according to local newspaper al-Quds.
His death comes after a week of investigations in the Nablus area over the attack on Palestinian police.
“The police are determined to uproot crime from Palestinian society,” Dmeiri said.
On Tuesday, afternoon Fatah supporters and Nablus residents protested against perceived brutality by the PA security forces.
PA security forces broke up the protests, and footage of PA officers on patrol was shared on Twitter.
Halaweh’s family denounced his killing and called for justice. They described him as a “noble national leader who was killed in cold blood without the least observance of human rights”.
The family’s statement ended by calling for Halaweh to be mourned across the Palestinian territories.
This article is available in French on Middle East Eye French edition.
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