A Palestinian security court in the West Bank sentenced...

A Palestinian security court in the West Bank sentenced a 43-year-old Palestinian man to death by firing squad for treason and collaborating with the Israeli military.
The three-judge panel found Munzer Hifnawi guilty of helping Israeli security forces kill an activist in the militant Islamic group Hamas. The activist was shot dead near a refugee camp outside the Palestinian-ruled city of Nablus in February.
Applauding the decision, members of the audience shouted "long live justice" when the verdict was handed down after three sessions totalling less than eight hours of court time.
Hifnawi's verdict needs to be ratified by Palestinian President Yasser Arafat to take effect. Hifnawi told the court he had been providing Israel with information about Palestinian activists since 1979. The judges showed the court evidence that included telephone numbers for Israeli intelligence officers stored in Hifnawi's cellular telephone.
Hifnawi was the fourth convicted collaborator to receive the death penalty within a month.
Hundreds of Palestinians attending a symbolic funeral for a suicide bomber in Nablus urged Arafat to execute the collaborators.
"Mr President carry out the execution verdict against spies," the crowd shouted.