Three suspected Palestinian collaborating with Israel were shot and wounded by masked Palestinians Monday in a downtown Ramallah.
A large crowd quickly surrounded the three, and bystanders tried to prevent approaching ambulances from rescuing the wounded men, witnesses said. One of the men died at the scene.
Witnesses told AP that five masked men had pulled the three alleged informers from their car and shot them in the legs. As the masked men fled the scene, they shouted that they were from the Fatah’s al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade.
The gunmen accused the three men they shot of having helped Israel locate Fatah leader Marwan Barghouthi, who was seized by Israeli forces last week in a Ramallah hideout.
On Monday, Israel extended Barghouthi’s arrest for additional 25 days. Also on Monday, Israeli Attorney-General Eliyakim Rubenstein set up a team of senior legal and security specialists to oversee the case of Barghouthi.
Mohammed Rashid, a senior aide to Arafat, said: "Israel knows full well that Marwan Barghouthi is a political leader and has no relation whatsoever to so-called terrorism. "He had been directly engaged in the political process and the future of peace in the region."
Elsewhere, PA security chief in the West Bank, Jibril Rajoub, said Monday afternoon he would not resume security coordination with Israel after Israeli troops trashed his headquarters. (Albawaba.com)
