Sept. 6
PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY:
Father and son facing death row for 'collaboration' with Israel
A Palestinian father and his son are facing the death sentence after being
accused by the Palestinian Authority of collaborating with Israel.
Muhammad Abu Kainas and his son, Rami, of Gaza City, are among 7
Palestinians who are standing trial in the Gaza Strip for allegedly
helping Israel track down and kill wanted Hamas and Fatah activists.
PA prosecutor Wael Zakout told the court that the two were recruited by
the Israeli security forces in 1987. He accused Abu Kainas and his son of
assisting Israel in the botched attempt to assassinate Hamas leader Abdel
Aziz Rantisi in June 2003.
Rantisi, who was killed earlier this year in a 2nd assassination attempt,
escaped death in 2003 when he jumped out of his jeep in the center of Gaza
City. 3 people were killed in the missile attack, 2 of Rantisi's guards
and a female passerby.
According to the charge sheet, Rami Kainas was asked by the Shin Bet to
keep an eye on Rantisi's car. When he spotted the jeep in the Rimal
neighborhood of Gaza City, he phoned his Israeli handlers and reported on
the presence of Rantisi in the area.
The charge sheet claimed that the 2 had received unspecified sums of money
from the Shin Bet in return for their services over the years.
A few days after the botched attempt on Rantisi's life, the 2 allegedly
informed the Shin Bet of the whereabouts of Hamas activist Ra'fat Za'anin,
who was shot and killed by IDF troops shortly afterwards.
Denying the charges, the defendants told presiding Judge Fahmi Najjar that
they could not afford to hire a lawyer, especially after their family
disowned them in public.
Five other suspected collaborators who appeared before the court appealed
for mercy, arguing that although they had agreed to work as informants,
they did not provide the Shin Bet with any information about the movements
of wanted activists. One of them told the court that he had voluntarily
handed over to the PA General Intelligence Force the sum of NIS 700, which
he received from an Israeli security officer.
The PA has in recent months stepped up its campaign against Palestinians
suspected of collaboration with Israel. At least 60 suspects have been
officially charged with harming Palestinian national interests by
collaborating with Israel. If convicted, the defendants face the death
sentence.
(source: Jerusalem Post)
