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Palestinian Labor Minister to Quit Amid Anti-govt Protests

Palestinians in the West Bank city of Ramallah, on June 27, 2021, protest the death of human rights activist Nizar Banat while in the custody of Palestinian Authority security forces - AFP
Palestinians in the West Bank city of Ramallah, on June 27, 2021, protest the death of human rights activist Nizar Banat while in the custody of Palestinian Authority security forces - AFP
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Palestinian Labor Minister to Quit Amid Anti-govt Protests

Palestinians in the West Bank city of Ramallah, on June 27, 2021, protest the death of human rights activist Nizar Banat while in the custody of Palestinian Authority security forces - AFP
Palestinians in the West Bank city of Ramallah, on June 27, 2021, protest the death of human rights activist Nizar Banat while in the custody of Palestinian Authority security forces - AFP

The labor minister in the Palestinian Authority will resign, a member of his party said Sunday, as protesters marched for a fourth day demanding president Mahmoud Abbas step down.

The left-wing Palestinian People's Party has decided to withdraw from the Fatah-led PA government due to "its lack of respect for laws and public freedoms", central committee member Issam Abu Bakr said.

Nasri Abu Jaish, the labor minister and the People's Party representative in the government, will therefore resign on Monday, Abu Bakr told AFP.

Demonstrations against the PA erupted Thursday following the violent arrest and death in custody of activist Nizar Banat and continued Sunday evening.

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, beat him and dragged him away, his family said.

The PA has announced the opening of an investigation into Banat's death, but it has done little to appease anger on the streets.

On Sunday evening, protesters defied a heavy deployment of security forces, holding up photographs of the activist as they marched in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, in Banat's home town of Hebron.

In Ramallah, the seat of the PA, protesters demanded those responsible for Banat's death be held accountable, while several supporters of the Fatah party of Abbas gathered to shout slogans backing the president.

The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate called for the dismissal of the PA police chief "due to the police's failure to protect journalists who were attacked, prevented from reporting and threatened" within view of police officers at the protests.

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, doctor 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.

Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq on Sunday accused security forces of "attacking the participants with batons and rocks" while dragging others to the ground and beating them, adding that some suffered head injuries.

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 president's original mandate expired in 2009 and he has since governed by decree.

In April, Abbas declared that legislative and presidential polls set for May and July respectively should not be held until Israel guaranteed voting could take place in annexed east Jerusalem.

Al-Haq warned there had been a "serious regression on public rights and freedoms" since the decision to scrap the elections.

In addition to holding the presidency, Abbas is also head of Fatah and president of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (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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Inspectors Say Around 100 Chemical Weapons Sites Remain in Syria

OPCW inspectors in Syria (AP)  
OPCW inspectors in Syria (AP)  
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Inspectors Say Around 100 Chemical Weapons Sites Remain in Syria

OPCW inspectors in Syria (AP)  
OPCW inspectors in Syria (AP)  

More than 100 chemical weapons sites are suspected to remain in Syria, left behind after the fall of former President Bashar al-Assad, inspectors from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said.

That number is the first estimate of its kind as the leading international organization that tracks these weapons seeks to enter Syria to assess what remains of al-Assad’s notorious military program, according to a report published by The New York Times.

It said the figure is far higher than any that al-Assad has ever acknowledged.

According to OPCW, the current estimate of more than 100 sites comes from the watchdog and has been circulated recently among experts and international nonproliferation analysts.

The organization said it had arrived at the number based on outside researchers, nonprofit groups and intelligence shared by its member countries.

The Times revealed that the sites are suspected to have been involved in the research, manufacturing and storage of chemical weapons.

Assad used weapons like sarin and chlorine gas against opposition fighters and Syrian civilians during more than a decade of civil war, it noted.

“Some sites are probably hidden in caves or other places that are tough to find using satellite images, according to researchers, former organization staff members and other experts. That increases the likelihood that some weapons are not secured,” the newspaper wrote.

Assad-led Syria joined the agency under a US-Russian deal following a 2013 sarin gas attack that killed hundreds. Around 1,300 metric tons of chemical weapons and precursors were destroyed.

During the past decade, Syrian officials under Assad stonewalled OPCW inspectors. The number of sites, and whether they are secured, has been a mystery since opposition forces toppled al-Assad last year, The Times said.

It said that in the early years of the civil war, Assad’s government declared the locations of 27 sites to the OPCW, which sent inspectors to visit and shut them down. But Assad continued to use chemical weapons until at least 2018, and research showed that his government kept importing essential precursor chemicals.

Inspectors had warned that the weapons are deadly, particularly when used in densely populated areas.

Sarin, a nerve agent, can kill within minutes. Chlorine and mustard gas, weapons made infamous in World War I, burn the eyes and skin and fill the lungs with fluid, seemingly drowning people on land.

In a surprise visit in March to the global chemical weapons watchdog headquarters at The Hague, Syria’s foreign minister said that the government would “destroy any remains of the chemical weapons program developed under the Assad regime” and comply with international law.

The current government allowed a team from the watchdog to enter the country this year to begin work documenting the sites, according to people with knowledge of the file.

But despite promises, the new government has not yet appointed an ambassador to the watchdog — a key first step that is seen as a sign of a country’s commitment.

Last week, Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa receives a cable of congratulation from OPCW Director, Fernando Arias, on the formation of the new Syrian government.

Arias expressed his sincere congratulations on the formation of the new government, wishing al-Sharaa success in implementing his program aimed at bringing stability to Syria and achieving prosperity for the Syrian people.

The OPCW chief also extended his best wishes to Sharaa on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, following the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

Arias affirmed his support for Syria during the transitional period which includes issues related to the efforts being made together to permanently end the dark chapter of Syria’s former chemical weapons program.