The family of Palestinian activist Nizar Banat, beaten to death during his detention by Palestinian security forces, announced on Wednesday they are no longer pursuing a case through the Palestinian judiciary and are, instead, turning to international courts for justice, The New Arab reported.

The family’s spokesperson and Nizar Banat’s brother, Ghassan Banat, told The New Arab that they no longer have faith in the Palestinian court system after learning the 14 suspects linked to the case were released from prison without a judicial order.

A comrade told me this is basically a Malcolm X quote. I'm not sure if the martyr Nizar Banat studied Malcolm, but I do know that time and time again, I'll find a quote by Kanafani, Leila Khaled, George Habash that almost exactly mirror something said by Malcolm, Castro, Mao. https://t.co/hYWOiKDU09

— pree falestine ||||🇵🇸 (@knafenator) May 15, 2022

Banat was one of the most well-known critics of corruption within the Palestinian Authority and was killed during his arrest by security forces on 24 June 2021. A Palestinian legal medical report confirmed that Banat was beaten to death.

“We received proof that the Palestinian security members accused of Nizar’s killing spent Eid Al-Fitr holidays at home with their families, despite the fact that they are detained for a serious criminal case,” Banat pointed out.

The commission’s lawyer explained to Palestinian media on Wednesday that Banat’s case is currently open in the Palestinian military judiciary, as the 14 suspects are members of security forces.

“We, as a legal team for the national commission for justice for Nizar Banat, are now preparing a case before the Palestinian civil judiciary,” he said.

Law enforcement agencies continue to arrest Ammar Banat, cousin of the martyr Nizar Banat, for the second day in a row, after ambushing him at the Al-Ubaidiya checkpoint when he was returning to Hebron after participating in the Victory Festival of the Block at Birzeit University

— Fátima Ezzahrae Elhalaoui #ShireenAbuAqleh (@Felhalaui_EN) May 20, 2022

Nizar Banat was a renowned Palestinian political activist and commentator, and a well-known critic of the Palestinian Authority.

Banat’s death sparked a wave of protests in the West Bank, which Palestinian security forces met with violence.

The security response and Banat’s death were met with international criticism.

(The New Arab, PC, Social Media)