PA security forces kill suspect in jail, causing uproar in Palestinian society
A firefight between Palestinian Authority security officials and a group of militants led to the death of two PA police officers; PA Security forces arrested the man allegedly behind the incident, took him to jail, and beat him to death; the incident caused widespread outrage, and people have taken to the streets in protest.
It all started last Thursday afternoon. Palestinian Authority (PA) special forces troops arrived in Nablus' old city to arrest a group of armed militants, apparently belonging to the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades – a Fatah aligned group whose members don't always follow the direction of the PA.
The operation did not go as planned, and a firefight broke out. Two PA police officers were killed and several were wounded. None of the militants were hurt, and they managed to flee the scene.
The hit PA forces took to their morale was painful, and it was clear that an operation to apprehend the perpetrators was imminent. PA forces pulled together their resources and managed to find out where several of the militants were staying that same night.
PA intelligence ascertained the militants' whereabouts, and pinpointed the location of the apartment they were hiding in.
Two of the militants were shot and badly wounded during the subsequent PA raid of the apartment, later dying of their wounds.
Earlier this week, the PA arrested Ahmad Halawa, a known Nablus figure who used to be a Palestinian policeman and has since become a major figure in the Fatah affiliated al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades. PA security forces claimed Halawa was the leader of the cell to which the militants who killed the two police officers belonged.
They arrested Halawa and took him to Nablus' Junaid jail, which is also the Nablus headquarters of the PA security forces. Nablus Governor Akram Rajoub calims Halawa resisted arrest, screaming and cursing at the officers. He reportedly kept doing so while in custody.
At a certain point, members of the unit of the two PA officers killed by Halawa's alleged militants noticed Halawa. They immediately grabbed him and began attacking him in front of fellow PA security officers. Witnesses who were in the area say they heard gunshots coming from inside the prison at the time of the incident. According to Rajoub, these were warning shots by security personnel who wanted to make the offending officers stop. Others say the officers beat Halawa, then shot him dead.
The news of Halawa's death caused a public uproar, with vast criticism heaped at PA security forces for abusing their power and murdering a suspect out of revenge. The PA understood the powder keg on which they were sitting may explode, and attempted to quell the anger by announcing that those who participated in the beating will be prosecuted. Nonetheless, the anger continued, with Hamas fanning the fire at their PA opponents. At least one protest saw about 200 people demonstrating against the PA has already taken place.
The situation remains tense, and only helps Hamas' chances of winning the upcoming municipal elections in one the Palestinians' most important cities.
