STATEMENT REGARDING THE MURDER OF MUHAMMAD MANSOUR
(Communicated by the Prime Minister's Office)
Friday, 18 March, 2005

On Thursday, 13.1.05, Muhammad Mansour was kidnapped for interrogation in
the context of being suspected - by fugitive Fatah Tanzim terrorists in the
Balata refugee camp - of cooperating with Israel.

According to the fugitives, Mansour admitted that he cooperated with Israel
and worked with an Israel Security Agency (ISA) officer, having passed on
information that led to the arrest and death of several senior fugitives in
the camp, including Nadr Abu Lil and Hashem Abu Hamdan, senior Fatah Tanzim
terrorists in Nablus, who directed several attempted suicide attacks inside
Israel and who were killed in an Israeli action.

After his interrogation, Mansour was brought before a Muslim cleric who
heard his confession before Mansour was executed, in order to add religious
credibility to the confession. Mansour was filmed confessing and expressing
regret for his actions.

On the evening of 14.1.05, fugitives called on residents of the Balata
refugee camp to gather in the marketplace in order to observe the execution.
Thousands heeded the call. Mansour, his hands bound, was ordered to kneel
on the ground. Tanzim fugitives shot Muhammad Mansour in full view of the
gathered crowd. When Mansour fell over onto the ground, one of the
fugitives emptied an entire clip from his sidearm into Mansour's head. The
mother of Nadr Abu Lil thereupon came out, stabbed Mansour's corpse and
gouged out its eyes. The mother of Hashem Abu Hamdan and his brothers
thereupon gashed Mansour's corpse with knives and axes.

When an ambulance came to collect the body, it was stoned by the mob. The
ambulance driver was beaten and forced to flee the scene. Mansour's corpse
was later delivered to the hospital, after having been further abused by the
mob. The mob set out for Mansour's house and was met by his father who came
out and declared that his son was a traitor whom he disowned. Thus the mob
was deterred from burning the home.

A senior Tanzim fugitive from Balata, Ala Sanakhara, told a Palestinian
Authority publication that they were responsible for Mansour's murder due to
the fact of the latter's having caused the death of a Tanzim "fighter" and
that they took upon themselves the responsibility to act in place of the
security services.

The state of Israel wishes to clarify that Muhammad Mansour had no
connection whatsoever with any ISA officials or with any other Israeli
elements!