Rights group slams Palestinian Authority over activist death

JERUSALEM (AP) — Amnesty International says the Palestinian Authority has failed to hold its security forces accountable for the death of an activist in police custody a year ago. The family of Nizar Banat, a prominent critic of the PA, says security forces stormed his residence in the middle of the night and beat him with metal batons. His death sparked weeks of protests against the PA, which governs parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Some of the demonstrations were violently dispersed. Palestinian authorities arrested 14 officers last summer and are trying them in a military court, but have taken no action against top commanders. Amnesty says the proceedings are “a smokescreen to protect those higher up.”