B'Tselem Report Collaborators in the Occupied Territories: Human Rights Abuses and Violations, Comprehensive Report, January 1994

מרכז המידע הישראלי לזכויות האדם בשטחים (ע.ר.)

B’Tselem – The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories

Jerusalem, January 1994

Collaborators in the Occupied Territories: Human Rights Abuses and Violations

Researched and Written by: Yizhar Be'er, Dr. Saleh 'Abdel-Jawad

Fieldwork Assistants: Suha 'Arraf and Bassem 'Eid

Assistance on writing of theoretical sections: Eitan Felner

Edited by: Rachel Peretz

Graphics: Dina Sher

English: Jessica Bonn, Ralph Mandel, Ruth Morris, Shaul Vardi

Thanks:

1. 
   to the B'Tselem staff who worked days and nights to finish the report on schedule
   
2. 
   to B'Tselem board members Gila Svirsky, Ilana Hammerman, Stanley Cohen, and Avishai Margalit
   
3. 
   to Avi Katzman for his eye-opening comments
   
4. 
   to Eyal Benvenisti, Edy Kaufman, David Kretchmer and Yuval Karniel
   
5. 
   to Professor Robert Goldman, American University, Washington D.C.
   
6. 
   to Claudio Cordone, Amnesty International
   
7. 
   to Kenneth Ross and Eric Goldstein, Human Rights Watch
   
8. 
   to Neil Hicks, Lawyers Committee for Human Rights
   
9. 
   to the Association for Civil Rights in Israel and Hotline: Center for the Defense of the Individual
   

B'Tselem Staff and Board of Directors:
Chair, Board of Directors: Gila Svirsky

Board Members: Amos Elon, Rabbi Ehud Bandel, Dr. Daphna Golan, Ilana Hammerman, Roni Talmor, Professor Stanley Cohen, Atty. Avigdor Feldman, Professor Paul Mendes-Flohr, Victor Shem-Tov

Executive Director: Yizhar Be’er
Staff: Jessica Bonn, Aaron Back, Tami Bash, Yuval Ginbar, Sheli Cohen, Bassem ‘Eid, Suha ‘Arraf, Eitan Felner, Sharon Roubach, Yael Stein, Iris Tamir

Contents
INTRODUCTION 9

1. Theoretical Underpinnings 10

2. The Phenomenon of Collaboration 15

3. Defining Collaboration in the Occupied Territories 16

4. Contents of the Report 19

5. Clarifications 20

PART A

COLLABORATION IN THE TERRITORIES - BACKGROUND 23

1. The Military Government and the Residents of the Territories 26

2. The Collapse of Law and Order during the Intifada 29

a. “Policing,” “Juridical,” and “Implementation” Operations by Militants 30

b. Popular Justice and Arbitration 31

3. Recruitment of Collaborators 32

a. Vital Services Conditional on Collaboration 33

b. Recruitment of Suspects, Defendants, and Individuals Convicted

of Criminal and Security Offenses 37

c. Isqat 39

4. Violence by Collaborators and Enforcement of the Law 44

a. Follow-up on Legal Handling of Death Cases 53

PART B

TYPES OF “COLLABORATORS” ACCORDING TO THE DEFINITION

OF THE PALESTINIAN ORGANIZATIONS 57

1. The Intelligence Agent ('amil al-mukhabarat) 59

2. Collaborators in Prisons and Detention Facilities (al-'asfor) 63

3. The Land Dealers (al-samsar) 71

4. The Intermediary (al-wasit) 76

5. Government Appointees and Associates 81

a. Mukhtars 82

b. Appointed Members of Village and Municipal Councils 83

c. The Village Leagues 85

d. Policemen 86

6. Morality, Family Honor, and Collaboration 89

a. Five Incidents of the Killing of Women in the Intifada 92

PART C

THE TORTURING AND KILLING OF SUSPECTED COLLABORATORS 101

1. The Torturing and Killing of Suspected Collaborators

as a Human Rights Violation 103

2. The Cells Involved in Torturing and Killing Suspected Collaborators 105

a. The Black Panther and Red Eagle Cells in Nablus 107

b. The Fatah Hawks Cell in Rafah 109

c. The Red Eagle Cell in Khan Yunis: Testimony 116

d. The Seif al-Islam Cell: Testimony 117

3. The Use of Torture in Interrogations 120

4. Types of Killing 123

a. Killing On-The-Spot without Interrogation 123

b. Killing in the Course of or at the End of Interrogation 126

c. “People's Trials” 126

d. Lynching 129

e. Killings at Detention Facilities 132

5. Forms of Punishment other than Killing 136

a. Stigmatizing (tashwih) and Social Ostracism 136

b. Corporal Punishment 136

c. House Arrest (iqamah jabrayyah) 137

6. Coordinating Information about Suspects 139

7. Repentance 141

a. Suspected Collaborators' Attempts to Clear their Name by Attacking Israelis 143

8. The Nusseirat Refugee Camp: Investigation of Attacks on Suspected Collaborators 145

a. Breakdown of Suspicions leading to the Imposition of Punishment 146

b. Breakdown of Punitive Actions by Organizational Affiliation of the Perpetrators 146

c. Additional Figures on Suspects Punished 147

d. Four Cases of Suspected Collaborators Killed at the Nusseirat Refugee Camp 148
PART D

APPROACH OF THE PALESTINIAN LEADERSHIP TO THE

TORTURE AND KILLING OF SUSPECTED COLLABORATORS 157

1. The PLO Affiliates 159

a. The Intifada Period 160

b. Internal PLO Criticism on the Killing of Collaborators 165

c. Responsibility of the PLO Leadership for Killings of Suspected Collaborators by

its Activists in the Occupied Territories - Policy and Enforcement 168

d. After the Signing of the Israel-PLO Agreement 170

2. The Approach of the Islamic Organizations 173

a. Types of Collaborators 173

b. Collaboration as Heresy against Islam 175

c. Hamas Policy toward Collaborators 176
PART E

THE AUTHORITIES AND THE COLLABORATORS 183

1. Punitive Policy Toward Palestinians Suspected of Attacking Collaborators 186

2. Protection, Rehabilitation, and Assistance to Collaborators 188

a. Protection and Rehabilitation in the Territories 190

b. Rehabilitation in Israel 196

c. Protection and Rehabilitation of Collaborators after the Israel-PLO Accord 199

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 203

1. Palestinian Accountability 205

2. Responsibility of the Israeli Government 207

APPENDICES

Appendix A - Interview with Faisal al-Husseini 213

Appendix B - B'Tselem's Appeal to the PLO 216

Appendix C - Interview with Sheikh Ahmad Yasin 219

Appendix D - Ministry of Justice Response to B'Tselem Report 228

Appendix E - Professor Michael Harsigor - “Collaboration: A Historical Perspective” 230