Last update - 00:00 15/11/2007
Four East J'lem Arabs charged with killing alleged collaborator
By Ofra Edelman, Haaretz Correspondent
Authorities in Jerusalem have arrested four residents of the Jabel Mukaber section of East Jerusalem for allegedly conspiring to kill a man they suspected of cooperating with the Israeli security services.
News of the arrests was made public Thursday after a gag order, in place due to security concerns, was lifted.
According to the indictment filed by prosecutors in Jerusalem last week, the four men planned to rob the victim, 35-year-old Masud Zatra, for the purpose of using the money to fund a terrorist cell they planned to form before finally killing him.
The four men - Daya Matar, 31; Suhil Shakirat, 24; Hosem Matar, 24; and Ismail Hajazi, 26 - are believed to have begun planning the terrorist cell in early 2005. The cell was to have carried out terrorist attacks against Jews.
Prosecutors also filed an indictment with the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court on Thursday, charging six others with aiding the four men in their efforts to acquire weapons. They have been identified as Ayas Shakirat, 22, from Suwahara; Amin Rabia, 23, from Ras al-Amud; Ziad Shakirat, 34, of Abu Dis; Ali Matar, 25; Ana'an Matar, 28, and Ali Suan, 41, all residents of Jabel Mukaber. The last four were also charged with obstruction of justice. Ayas Shakirat was also charged with maintaining contact with the militant Islamist organization Hamas.
The indictment alleges the four men had amassed a supply of weapons and accessories which included plastic twist tie closures used as handcuffs, rubber gloves, duct tape, a gas-powered gun, and a knife, all of which were intended for use in the robbery of Zatra.
The suspects allegedly staged an ambush of Zatra, luring him out of his car near the Sheikh Sa'ad checkpoint as he was on his way home. As Zatra's vehicle was approaching, one of the four men signaled him to stop under the false pretense that the car belonging to one of the suspects had broken down.
According to the indictment, the four men requested that Zatra give them a lift to an adjacent village, and Zatra agreed. After the suspects climbed into his car, they proceeded to threaten him at knife point. One of the suspects seized control of the vehicle and drove to Wadi al-Damaas, near Suwahara, where the four men allegedly blindfolded Zatra and abducted him, abandoning the vehicle at a remote location.
The indictment alleges that Suhil Shakirat and Hosem Matar forced Zatra into a cave, where they interrogated him, seeking details on his financial worth and the source of his earnings. Dissatisfied with Zatra's answers, the two subsequently mulled their next step, eventually deciding to kill their hostage. They allegedly proceeded to tie him up, seal his mouth shut, and hold him down as Shakirat slit his throat. The suspects are then alleged to have disposed of the body in a pit, which they covered with dirt and stones.