Asher Weissgan, the West Bank settler who was sentenced to four consecutive life sentences and 12 additional years for the murder of four Palestinian workers and injuring a fifth in the settlement Shilo in August 2005, committed suicide Friday morning in Ayalon Prison.

A preliminary investigation into the suicide indicates that Weissgan asked the on-duty officer to transfer him from the religious-observant ward in which he was staying. Weissgan was removed from his cell and placed in a temporary cell while his replacement was being considered.

In a morning inspection of his cell Friday, Weissgan was found hung by phylacteries which he had tied around his neck.

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The prison administration found that Weissgan had left his prayer book open on the Kaddish, a Jewish sanctification prayer.

The prison's medical team tried to resuscitate Weissgan, but the intensive care ambulance pronounced him dead.

A preliminary investigation of the prison administration indicates that Weissgan had not voiced any suicidal tendencies to the prison's psychiatric staff, including the social worker with whom he spoke in the 24 hours that preceded his death.

The National Union - National Religious Party questioned the circumstances of Weissgan's death on Friday, and demanded an investigation into the death that would "remove all the question marks."

Weissgan, a resident of the Shavot Rachel settlement, is 38 years old and a father of two. Weissgan worked at a plant near Shilo alongside his victims.

On the day of the murders, Weissgan was preparing to drive his Palestinian colleagues to their homes at the end of the work day. As they were exiting the settlement's industrial area, Weissgan approached a guard and requested a glass of water. In his testimony, he said he had threatened the guard with a knife while wrestling his gun away from him, and then shot his two Palestinian passengers with it, killing them.

After the shooting, Weissgan returned to the plant and proceeded to shoot three more Palestinians working at the plant. Two of them were killed, and the third was wounded.

The Israel Prisons Service ordered an investigation into the Weissgan's suicide, Israel Radio reported Friday.