A Palestinian Authority Arab was shot and killed on Saturday over allegations that he had assisted Israel in fighting Judea and Samaria-based terrorist groups. The man charged with “collaboration” was 32-year-old Omar Helwan of Beit Dajan, near Shechem.
Helwan was murdered in the morning as he made his way to work.
The murder was the second of its kind in one month. On May 6, a 30-year-old PA man accused of assisting Israel was shot and killed near Ramallah.
While PA leaders have committed to fight terrorism in their agreements with Israel, “collaboration” with Israel by assisting with Israeli counter-terror efforts remains a capital offense under PA law. The PA has refrained from carrying out the death penalty, but individual terrorist sects occasionally carry out extra-judicial killings of suspected collaborators.
Prior to his death Helwan had been arrested by official PA forces on suspicion of working with Israeli security. An investigation into the charges was ongoing at the time of his death.
