Skip to main content

Palestinians see Abbas as sell out in peace talks

President Mahmoud Abbas' ideas of a demilitarized Palestinian state with no sovereignty over its borders are considered by many Palestinians as humiliating concessions.
A stone throwing Palestinian hides behind a garbage bin as a tear gas canister fired by Israeli forces flies past him during clashes in the West Bank village of Birzeit, near Ramallah February 27, 2014. The clashes broke out after Israeli forces opened fire and killed a Palestinian they were seeking to arrest on Thursday, after the man had barricaded himself inside his house, Reuters witnesses said. An Israeli military statement said that Muataz Washaha, 24, had been wanted for "suspected terror activity" a
Read in 

At roughly 2:30 a.m. Feb. 27, Israeli jeeps entered the West Bank town of Birzeit, surrounded the Washaha house and ordered everyone out. They had come to arrest Thaer Washaha, an activist in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) who had already been previously imprisoned by the occupation. According to Thaer’s father, the soldiers ordered the men to take off their shirts and forced them to lie down on the cold ground for two hours. The army detained Thaer’s brother, Ramiz, their cousin Fadi Sedqi and another young man Samir al-Qaisi.

The third brother, 24-year-old Mutaz, refused to leave the house and surrender. In a standoff that lasted several hours, the Israeli army fired rockets at the house before going inside and killing Mutaz by shooting him in the chest and head. They then proceeded to demolish part of the house before withdrawing in the early morning.

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.