Last update - 00:00 11/08/2007
Israel collaborator appears after Hamas claims Fatah killed him
By The Associated Press
Palestine TV on Saturday broadcast footage of the interrogation of Muayad Bani Odeh, a prisoner held for collaborating with Israel, who Hamas claimed was tortured to death by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' security forces.
Bani Odeh, 25, told interrogators he had been a member of Hamas since 2002 but had collaborated with Israeli security forces. Odeh said that in 2003 he gave Israel information that led to the killing of five fugitives, including three from Hamas, in his home village of Tamoun in the West Bank.
The video was marked with Friday's date, the same day deposed PA prime minister Ismail Haniyeh announced Bani Odeh was tortured to death in a West Bank prison. In it, Bani Odeh appears from the waist up with no visible injuries, although it is unclear whether he is speaking under threat.
Palestinian legislator Khaleda Jarrar said she had been misled about Bani Odeh by Tawfiq Tirawi, head of the PA General Intelligence Service. She said she called Tirawi on Thursday, at the request of Bani Odeh's family, to question him about rumors the prisoner was in a serious condition.
Jarrar said Tirawi told her Bani Odeh was indeed in serious condition in an Israeli hospital. In a second phone call shortly afterwards, Tirawi said Bani Odeh was clinically dead, Jarrar said.
The information reached Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, deposed as prime minister by Abbas after the Gaza takeover. In a speech after Muslim prayers Friday, Haniyeh accused Fatah-allied forces in the West Bank of persecuting and torturing Hamas supporters.
"Muayad Bani Odeh (is) a holy warrior, a son of Islam in the West Bank, who was tortured to death," Haniyeh said. Later, thousands of Hamas supporters in Gaza staged marches to protest Bani Odeh's purported death.
On Saturday, Palestine TV broadcast footage from what appears to be an interrogation of Bani Odeh, in which he confessed to collaborating with Israel.
Sitting on a bed, he said he provided information that led to the killing of five fugitives, including three from Hamas, by Israeli troops in his home village of Tamoun in 2003. The TV also showed him being checked by doctors and shaking their hands.
Later Saturday, Bani Odeh was presented to reporters at his Nablus lockup, repeating the statements he had made on TV. He said he had ties to Hamas, but was never considered a serious operative. The prisoner said he was not mistreated, though it was not clear whether he spoke under threat from his jailers.
Bani Odeh's family said he had been coerced into making a false confession. In Gaza, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri was asked why Hamas didn't check more thoroughly before announcing Bani Odeh's death. Abu Zuhri said Hamas had relied on Jarrar's account.
Jarrar, who is from a small PLO faction, said Tirawi called her Friday to apologize and told her Bani Odeh was fine. "We asked to see the young man, and we will ask again to see him," Jarrar said Saturday. "We don't care about what's on TV," she added.
Tirawi could not immediately be reached for comment. Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said Saturday that this is a fabricated story, aimed at harming the image and credibility of the movement. He did not elaborate.