Fatah activists Saturday abducted for about five hours Haider Irsheid, the acting Palestinian governor of the Jenin district, as he was driving through the center of the West Bank city, eyewitnesses and Palestinian sources said.
The local leader of the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, Zakariyah Zubeydi, said the group was holding Irsheid and accused him of being an Israeli collaborator who "has been involved in many crimes against our people." Zubeydi demanded the Palestinian Authority put Irsheid on trial.
Eyewitnesses said gunmen pulled 50-year-old Irsheid from his van and beat him with their hands and gun butts before bundling him into another vehicle and driving off toward the
city's refugee camp.
Zubeydi said Palestinian security officials had asked, on behalf of Arafat, for Irsheid's release. Instead, Zubeydi urged Arafat's PA to send a mediator to question the governor. "We respect Arafat and his orders, but this guy must be held accountable and put on trial for his crimes," he said. "He's in good condition, we're not torturing him." Later, Irsheid was freed.
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
