A senior official of the Palestinian security service on Friday denied that 60 Palestinians had been arrested on charges of collaborating with Israel.
"Nothing of the sort happened," the head of general intelligence for the West Bank, Gen. Tawfiq Tirawi, told AFP, formally denying reports to that effect.
Reports said that 60 Palestinians suspected of collaborating with Israel had been arrested in raids Thursday and Friday in the town and in the refugee camp of Jenin, in the northern West Bank.
The raids followed an attack by Israeli forces in which five members of Hamas, including two top political leaders, a journalist and two children were killed.
Four Palestinians were sentenced to death this week by the Palestinian security court in Nablus for collaboration, said reports.
On January 13, two convicted Palestinian collaborators were executed in Nablus and Gaza City for the first time since the creation of the Palestinian Authority in 1994. Other Palestinians have since been sentenced to death for collaboration, but the sentences have not been carried out.
Three Palestinians suspected of links with Israel were killed by unidentified assailants in West Bank, one on Friday, the two others on Wednesday.
During Wednesday's funerals for the eight Palestinians murdered by the Israelis in Nablus, the crowd called for revenge against Israel and Palestinian collaborators – Albawaba.com
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