| Masked Palestinian gunmen executed a suspected collaborator in a public square in the West Bank today, shooting the bound man before hundreds of onlookers, including schoolchildren. The body of a second alleged informer was found in a nearby rural area. The violent Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a group with ties to Yasser Arafat's ruling Fatah movement, claimed responsibility for the killings. The group said in a leaflet that the two men — Fadel Oudeh and Amjad Ajaj — had helped Israel kill three senior militants over the past year. Odeh and Ajaj were kidnapped two weeks ago from their village near the West Bank town of Tulkarem, residents said. Masked gunmen today drove Ajaj to a square in Tulkarem. They threw the bound man out of the vehicle and shot him numerous times as a crowd of about 500 people, including schoolchildren, gathered around, said witnesses. |