JENIN, West Bank, 20 July 2003 — Palestinian gunmen abducted the governor of the West Bank city of Jenin yesterday after he tried to crack down on their militant group, but freed him five hours later on President Yasser Arafat’s orders. The abduction highlighted Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas’ difficulties reining in militants under a US-backed peace plan, and underlined Arafat’s continuing influence with some groups despite US and Israeli efforts to sideline him.
The local branch of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an armed group with links to Arafat’s mainstream Fatah movement, said it had abducted governor Haider Irsheid after he ordered supporters to shoot some of its members.
Shouting “Collaborator! Collaborator!” about 20 men seized Irsheid, 47, as he was walking near a square in central Jenin, witnesses said. They beat him with sticks, rifles, fists and feet until he screamed in pain and bled from his face, neck and hands, witnesses said. They then took him to the nearby Jenin refugee camp, a warren of alleys where they could hide.
“He (Irsheid) sent his men to shoot at members of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and tried to assassinate others,” local Brigades leader Zakariya Zubeidi told reporters. He said this amounted to collaboration with Israel, and accused him of corruption. His group demanded Irsheid’s resignation and said he should be tried in a Palestinian court.
But Zubeidi later announced his release, saying: “We released him because we received instructions from the president to do so. We do not question the president’s instructions.” Witnesses said Irsheid, who has denied any wrongdoing, seemed to be in good condition but he went to hospital to be treated for bruises. He declined to talk to reporters.
Palestinian Information Minister Nabil Amr condemned the abduction as a “regrettable act” and said: “Law will be enforced. Nobody can act outside this cycle of law.”
The incident could embarrass Abbas ahead of talks today with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who is likely to call again for a crackdown on militants before the two leaders go to Washington for separate talks with President George W. Bush.
It also highlighted the divisions within Fatah and showed Arafat retains some influence even though Israel and the United States refuse to talk to him after accusing him of fomenting violence in the 33-month-old Palestinian uprising for statehood.
Israel regards a Palestinian crackdown on the militants as crucial to efforts to implement the US-backed road map to peace.
— With input from Agencies
