Did the PA kill a Palestinian teacher who uncovered corruption?

There have been claims that the PA has targeted and ultimately had a part in the death of Palestinian engineer to silence her after she exposed financial and administrative corruption at the Dura Girls’ Vocational School where she worked.

Thirty-six-year-old Niveen Ekailan’s body was found by the Palestinian police near her apartment building in Birzeit on 16 July, days after she disappeared. Although an autopsy performed by the Palestinian Institute of Forensic Medicine at Al-Quds University concluded that Niveen plummeted to her death, many, including her family, believe that she was killed.

Image of Niveen Ekailan’s body (covered in blue clothing)

Niveen’s family is refusing to receive her body until another autopsy is performed by the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute in Tel Aviv, as they do not believe the first autopsy was performed by an unbiased party.

The engineer and teacher continuously posted on social media sites about the alleged corruption at the school she worked in for four years. Her posts included documents, details and names of those involved in the administrative and financial corruption. She also posted documents showing letters and complaints she filed to various government officials and institutions in order to investigate her claims.

She also sent letters to various higher institutions and ministries regarding the threats she was receiving due to her claims. However, no action was taken to remedy the situation. She was later forced to resign from her job at the Dura Girls’ Vocational School.

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Niveen and her family had come under pressure to silence her claims. Her father told Al-Hurriya news agency that he was approached by individuals asking him to file a report saying that his daughter was mentally ill and to admit her to a mental institute. However, her father stressed that Niveen did not suffer from a mental illness and was about to start her PhD in Computer Engineering at the University of Kassel in Germany.

Her family said she has never been afraid to say the truth and ultimately sacrificed her life for the sake of her morals and values. They said that they will reserve judgement regarding Niveen’s claims until investigations prove who was involved, but they do believe that justice must be served.