Palestinians appalled by assassination of ‘collaborator’ murderer
The assassination came amid unconfirmed reports that Hamas has arrested a number of its members on suspicion of collaboration with Israel.
By KHALED ABU TOAMEHPalestinian members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) take part in a military show in Gaza (photo credit: REUTERS)
A former Palestinian activist from the Gaza Strip who hacked a man to death on suspicion of collaboration with Israel more than 30 years ago was assassinated on Sunday night, sparking public outcry and calls for the execution of the perpetrators.Jaber al-Qeeq, a former member of the PLO’s Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), belonged to a cell that brutally murdered Subhi al-Sufi, a resident of the town of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, during the First Intifada, which erupted in late 1987.The assassination came amid unconfirmed reports that Hamas has arrested a number of its members on suspicion of collaboration with Israel.Qeeq was arrested by Israeli authorities and sentenced to a lengthy prison term for his role in the murder. He was released shortly after the signing of the Oslo Accords between Israel and the PLO in 1993. Although he belonged to the PFLP, Qeeq was recruited to the PA security forces in the Gaza Strip and was promoted to the rank of colonel.More than 1,000 Palestinians suspected of collaboration with Israel were murdered by Palestinian activists during the First Intifada. Israeli security sources and Palestinians said many of the suspected collaborators were victims of personal disputes.Palestinian sources said Qeeq belonged to an armed wing called “Red Eagle,” whose members were responsible for the abduction and murder of a number of suspected collaborators in Rafah.Eyewitnesses said three assailants took part in the assassination of Qeeq. Two of the assailants shot him in the legs, while a third stabbed him several times in the back, they said.Hamas identified one of the assailants as Shadi al-Sufi, 37, the son of the man murdered 32 years ago by Qeeq and his cell members. Hamas also named two other suspects: Fadi Subhi al-Sufi, 35, and Diab Khaled al-Dabari, 19.The Hamas-controlled Ministry of Interior and National Security published photos of the three suspects and appealed to Palestinians to provide information about their whereabouts.Shortly after the assassination of Qeeq, the main suspect, Shadi al-Sufi, posted a message on Facebook in which he wrote: “My father, I have cried for 32 years over your absence. Today, I laughed with all my heart. Rest in peace in your grave, my father. I have slaughtered your adversary like a goat.”The Sufi family published a statement in which it said Qeeq had murdered one of its sons during the First Intifada. The family accused Qeeq of using an ax to murder their son, Subhi, and setting his body on fire in front of his wife and children, adding that it has finally avenged the victim’s death.Sources close to the Sufi family denied that their son, Subhi, had collaborated with Israel during the First Intifada. The sources said the murder was a result of a personal dispute between the victim and Qeeq.“Subhi was brutally murdered because he had accused Qeeq of sexually harassing a woman from Rafah,” a source said. “After the murder, Qeeq tried to ruin Subhi’s reputation by describing him as a collaborator with Israel.”In a statement issued on Monday, the PFLP said: “The execution of the collaborator Subhi al-Sufi was a national decision taken by the PFLP during the First Intifada.”The PFLP vowed to avenge the assassination of Qeeq and denounced attempts to “spread lies and fabrications” about his activities more than three decades ago. “We won’t forgive those who try to harm our men,” it said.Hamas said its security forces have launched a manhunt to capture the three men allegedly involved in the assassination of Qeeq. The assassination “serves the interests and schemes of the occupation,” it said, adding that the incident “constitutes a dangerous development.”Several Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip also strongly condemned the assassination of Qeeq and warned that acts of revenge would “undermine civil peace and destabilize the home front.”