Palestine: Treatment of family members of known collaborators with Israel by Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, the Palestinian Authority and Hamas; treatment by society (2005-January 2015)

1. Overview of Palestinian Collaborators with Israel

A 2007 academic article on Palestinian collaborators published in the Journal of Human Rights defines "collaborator" as Palestinians "who maintained contacts with Israeli institutions in manners that were considered contrary to the position of the mainstream national Palestinian movement" (Dudai and Cohen 2007, 38). For further background information on the issue of Palestinian collaborators with Israel, including detail on how collaborators have been defined and the treatment of collaborators or suspected collaborators between 2012-2013, see Response to Information Request PSE104503.

2. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade

Some sources indicate that the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade is the military wing of the Fatah movement (Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs 20 Aug. 2014; Al-Akhbar 28 July 2014). The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), an independent membership-based think tank (CFR n.d.), noted in 2008 that a direct relationship between the two is debatable as "it seems unlikely that the brigade operate[s] at the behest of Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas" (ibid. 2 Apr. 2008).

A January 2013 article by Haaretz, an Israeli newspaper published in Hebrew and English, states that "[t]he Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades marched in Balata refugee camp near Nablus for the first time since the PA [Palestinian Authority] banned the carrying of weapons, and Brigades disbanded" (Haaretz 10 Jan. 2013). A September 2013 article by Al-Monitor, a news site that provides reporting and analysis on the Middle East (Al-Monitor n.d.), notes that the Israeli government blamed Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade for the deaths of two Israeli soldiers in the West Bank cities of Qalqilya and Hebron, while Fatah al-Intifada claimed responsibility for the deaths (Al-Monitor 25 Sept. 2013). The article quotes a political analyst at the Palestinian Center for Policy Research as stating that following the shootings there was a "'public appearance of armed Al-Aqsa Brigades elements in the Nablus and Jenin camps in the north of the West Bank'" (ibid.).

In their analysis of the post-disarmament activities of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, an "independent research institute specializing in public diplomacy and foreign policy" (Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs n.d.), states that in July 2014 "the headquarters of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in the West Bank announced (July 22, 2014) an 'open war against the Zionist enemy'" (ibid. 20 Aug. 2014). Other sources have noted that Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade had claimed responsibility for firing at a checkpoint in the West Bank in late July 2014 (Ma'an News Agency 26 July 2014; Al-Akhbar English 28 July 2014). In reference to the July 2014 shooting, Al-Akhbar English, the online English version of the Arabic language Al-Akhbar newspaper in Beirut, notes that the event is significant as resistance in the West Bank had largely been "put down" since Operation Defensive Shield in 2012 and the "policy of security collaboration between the [PA] and Israel" (ibid.).

For further information on the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade until 2010, including structure, political affiliation, and participation in the 2007-2008 amnesty and disarmament program jointly operated by Israel and the PA, see Response to Information Request PSE103459.

3. Treatment of Family Members of Collaborators by the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade

Information on the treatment of family members of collaborators by Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades was scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

Media sources report that in 2002, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade killed a woman living in the West Bank city of Tulkarem [also known as Tul Karm] after she was accused of being an Israeli collaborator and of passing information to her brother in Israel, who was reported to be a "known collaborator" (Los Angeles Times 27 Aug. 2002; NPR 8 Sept. 2002; AP 26 Aug. 2002). Her son reportedly told media sources that Al-Aqsa had seized him from his home and tortured him with a wire until he "confessed" to charges that he passed information to his mother about the location of a militia leader who had been killed by Israeli forces (ibid.; Los Angeles Times 27 Aug. 2002). The son claimed that he made up the story to avoid further torture and showed reporters the wounds on his back (ibid.; AP 26 Aug. 2002). Media sources report that within a week of the killing, the dead woman's niece was also killed by Al-Aqsa (NPR 8 Sept. 2002; Haaretz 30 Aug. 2002). According to Haaretz, the woman's sister, nephew and niece were all interrogated by Al-Aqsa on allegations of collaborating with Israel and the 18-year-old niece was shot and killed (ibid.). The woman's sister told Haaretz that she admitted to the charges after being tortured (ibid.). According to National Public Radio (NPR), the woman's home was firebombed and both her family and the family of her niece fled (NPR 8 Sept. 2002).

Information about the treatment of family members of collaborators by the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade between 2005 and January 2015 could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

4. Treatment of Family Members of Known Collaborators by the Palestinian Authority

In a 2006 interview with the BBC, a Palestinian man living in the West Bank village of Kfar Deek claimed that after approaching the PA to complain that his sister had been molested by PA officials, he was accused of being a collaborator, arrested by the PA and "tortured" (BBC 13 Dec. 2006). The man reportedly said that his oldest and youngest sons were taken by authorities and tortured (ibid.). He also told BBC that "masked men" abducted his middle son, whose dead body was later found in the road near the village with 14 bullet wounds (ibid.). Further and corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

Further information on the treatment of family members of collaborators by the PA could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

5. Treatment of Family Members of Known Collaborators by Hamas

Referring to a 2013 campaign that encouraged collaborators to turn themselves in, a Reuters article quotes the Hamas Minister of Interior, Fathy Hammad, as stating that "Hamas's new policy aimed to emphasize that spying was an individual act and offered anonymity to anyone who handed themselves in to avoid the inevitable backlash from their neighbors" (Reuters 8 May 2013). Sources indicate that in August 2014, after the execution of 18 alleged collaborators by members of Hamas, Hamas said that it would not release the names of those killed in order to protect their families (AP 22 Aug. 2014; The Washington Post 22 Aug. 2014; Human Rights Watch 25 Aug. 2014).

Reports of Hamas or Hamas-related groups targeting the families of known collaborators could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

6. Treatment of Families of Known Collaborators by Society

Sources indicate that the families of collaborators face stigma by their communities (Al-Monitor 16 Aug. 2013; Los Angeles Times 27 Aug. 2002; Dudai and Cohen 2007, 49). The 2007 article on Palestinian collaborators notes that

[a]n important factor in a "communitarian" society such as the Palestinian is that the stigmas associated with individual collaborators effect their children and family members as well. ... The relatives of those who are exposed as collaborators face a tough dilemma of conflicting loyalties. They have to choose between condemning them, thus betraying their family members, or supporting them, thus betraying their national movement. (ibid., 49)

In a 2014 article, Al Jazeera states that "[i]n tight-knit communities across Palestine, families and extended relatives of collaborators are often shunned" (6 Sept. 2014). Al-Monitor notes that

[t]he scandal of the collaborator is never buried with the spy, as the family suffers the stigma of the crime. Relatives, especially children, live in isolation.

Spying for the enemy is an unforgivable offense in the eyes of many Palestinians, and much of the guilt falls onto the families. (16 Aug. 2013)

The son of a known collaborator reportedly told Al-Monitor that he did not have friends and could not find work in Gaza because of his status as the son of a spy (ibid.).

A 2010 article published in JNews, an "independent website providing analysis, opinion, information and news on Israel and Palestine" (JNews n.d.), by the then Director of the Department for Migrants, Refugees and Undocumented People at Physicians for Human Rights-Israel [1], states that "Palestinian society responds to collaboration by harassing and threatening both informants and their families" (JNews 27 Aug. 2010). In correspondence with the Research Directorate, the Executive Director of the Department for Migrants, Refugees and Undocumented People at Physicians for Human Rights - Israel stated that they have had cases in which the families of collaborators have been subject to harassment in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) (1 Feb. 2015). He provided an example of a 2009 case in which Physicians for Human Rights-Israel petitioned the court to prevent the deportation of family members of collaborators from Israel to the OPT, because they were "under life threats" in the OPT (1 Feb. 2015). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

Reuters reports that people in Gaza "often refuse to marry their sons or daughters to relatives of convicted or dead collaborators" (8 May 2013). The brother of a man imprisoned in Gaza for being an alleged spy for Israel reportedly told Reuters that many people "shunned" his brother's family in Gaza after the allegations against him spread (Reuters 8 May 2013).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Note

[1] Physicians for Human Rights-Israel is a non-profit NGO based in Tel Aviv that "strives to promote a more fair and inclusive society in which the right to health is applied equally for all" (Physicians for Human Rights-Israel n.d.). Their activities include medical assistance, "individual assistance," and advocacy (ibid.).

References

Al-Akhbar English. 28 July 2014. Ola al-Tamimi. "Is the West Bank Witnessing a Resurgence of Fatah's al-Aqsa Martyr Brigades?" [Accessed 21 Jan. 2015]

Al Jazeera. 6 September 2014. Mohammed Omer. "Who Are Israel's Palestinian Informants?" [Accessed 20 Jan. 2015]

Al-Monitor. 25 September 2013. Naela Khail. "Is Fatah's Armed Wing Making [a] Comeback?" [Accessed 21 Jan. 2015]

_____. 16 August 2013. Abeer Ayyoub. "Families of Palestinian Spies for Israel Face Stigma in Gaza". [Accessed 20 Jan. 2015]

_____. N.d. "About." [Accessed 4 Feb. 2015]

Associated Press (AP). 22 August 2014. "Israel-Gaza Conflict: Gunman Execute 18 Alleged Informers." [Accessed 23 Jan. 2015]

_____. 26 August 2002. "Al Aqsa Executes Mother After Son's Betrayal." [Accessed 26 Jan. 2015]

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). 13 December 2006. Richard Miron. "Israel's Informers - Real and Imagined." [Accessed 26 Jan. 2015]

Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). 2 April 2008. Holly Fletcher. "Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade." [Accessed 21 Jan. 2015]

_____. N.d. "About CFR." [Accessed 5 Feb. 2015]

Dudai, Ron and Hillel Cohen. 2007. "Triangle of Betrayal: Collaborators and Transitional Justice in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict." Journal of Human Rights. Vol. 6. No. 1.

Haaretz. 10 January 2013. Jack Khoury. "Fatah Militants March in West Bank, Palestinian Sources Say." [Accessed 5 Feb. 2015]

_____. 30 August 2002. "Militants Kill Teenage Girl for 'Collaborating' With Israel." [Accessed 23 Jan. 2015]

Human Rights Watch. 25 August 2014. Gaza: Halt Executions. [Accessed 23 Jan. 2015]

Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. 20 August 2014. Lt. Col (ret.) Jonathan D. Halevi. "The Al-Aqusa Martyrs Brigades, the Military Wing of Fatah, Is Officially Returning to Armed Struggle and Terror." [Accessed 2 Feb. 2014]

_____. N.d. "About the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs." [Accessed 2 Feb. 2015]

JNews. 27 August 2010. Ran Cohen. "Use and Lose: Israel's Palestinian Collaborators." [Accessed 21 Jan. 2015]

_____. N.d. "JNews - Alternative Jewish Perspectives on Israel and Palestine." [Accessed 6 Feb. 2015]

Los Angeles Times. 27 August 2002. Mark Magnier. "New Phase in Mideast Bloodshed." [Accessed 21 Jan. 2015]

Ma'an News Agency. 26 July 2014. "Al-Aqsa Brigades Opens Fire on Qalandia, Injuring Israeli Soldiers." [Accessed 23 Jan. 2015]

National Public Radio (NPR). 8 September 2002. "Profile: Killing of Palestinians Who Have Been Branded as Collaborators." [Accessed 23 Jan. 2015]

Physicians for Human Rights - Israel. 1 February 2015. Department for Migrants, Refugees and Undocumented People. Correspondence from the Executive Director to the Research Directorate.

_____. N.d. "Mission and History." [Accessed 2 Feb. 2015]

Reuters. 8 May 2013. Nidal al-Mughrabi. "Hamas Looks to Root out Israel's Spy Networks." [Accessed 20 Jan. 2015]

The Washington Post. 22 August 2014. William Booth and Ruth Eglash. "Gaza Militants Execute 18 Alleged Collaborators." [Accessed 20 Jan. 2015]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: Attempts to contact the following individuals and organizations were unsuccessful within the time constraints of this Response: Al-Haq; Palestinian Centre for Human Rights; Israel-Palestine: Creative Regional Intiatives.

The following individual was unable to provide information for this Response: professor, Department of Islam and Middle East Studies, Hebrew University Jerusalem.

Internet sites, including: Amnesty International; Arab Association for Human Rights; Arab News; B'Tselem; ecoi.net; Factiva; Independent Commission for Human Rights; The Jerusalem Post; The Legal Forum for Israel; Small Arms Survey; The Times of Israel; US - Department of State; United Nations - UNHCR, Refworld.