Hamas claims preacher was tortured by Palestinians

A Hamas preacher who died in Palestinian custody had been tortured by interrogators from the rival Fatah faction, his family and a fellow detainee claimed today.

The news raising new concerns that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' crackdown on the Islamic militants is marred by human rights violations.

Authorities confirmed the death of the 44-year-old Majed Barghouti at an intelligence lockup in Ramallah on Friday, a week after his arrest.

Mr Abbas ordered an investigation of the death, which came among repeated complaints by Hamas detainees that they were mistreated by Abbas' forces.

The death infuriated Gaza's Hamas leadership, who called it a crime.

In northern Gaza, three Palestinians were killed in an Israeli missile strike.

Palestinian officials said the three casualties were all civilians having a picnic in an open field, while the army said it had targeted Palestinian militants on their way to fire mortar shells at Israel.

A post-mortem examination indicated that Mr Barghouti had died of a heart problem, said Shawan Jabareen, head of the Palestinian human rights group Al Haq, adding that he had been shown the four-page medical report.

However, Mr Jabareen and six West Bank politicians called for another post-mortem examination under supervision.

Regardless of the cause of death, Mr Jabareen said: "It is clear from witnesses that the conditions of detention are bad, that the treatment is inhumane and that is harms human dignity."

One of the politicians, Hassan Khreisheh, an independent, called for an end to Fatah's political arrests.

"This event raises concern and fear for public freedom," he said. "This death rings the bell of danger regarding the continuing arrests in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip."

Mr Barghouti, a father of eight, was a mosque preacher in the West Bank village of Kobar, and spent several years in Israeli prisons.

He was among hundreds of Hamas activists to be detained by Abbas' security forces in the West Bank following the violent Hamas takeover of Gaza in June. Dozens are currently in custody.

One of Mr Barghouti's relatives, cousin Seif Barghouti, said Saturday that the family learned of the alleged mistreatment from four men who had been arrested along with Mr Barghouti and were released after his death.

The four told the family that they, along with Mr Barghouti, had been tied up in painful positions during interrogation, and that intelligence officers demanded to know where the detainees had hidden weapons.

One of the released detainees, Azzam Sahel, showed a reporter bruised, purple wrists he said he sustained while being tied up in painful positions, including being forced to stand on his toes for extended periods.

Mr Sahel said he was forced to sleep on cardboard on a wet floor, dressed only in a t-shirt and underwear. Mr Sahel said Mr Barghouti was in a nearby cell, and that he could hear him shouting for help repeatedly, but that he did not witness actual mistreatment of Mr Barghouti.

Mr Barghouti's wife, Fawziyeh, said her husband was in good health when he was arrested.

In a statement published in Palestinian newspapers, the intelligence service said Mr Barghouti had complained of chest and abdominal pain and was examined by a hospital doctor two days before his death.

Intelligence officials were not available to comment on the torture allegations.

As the torture allegations spread, Mr Barghouti's relatives blocked a main road near Kobar with rocks and burning tyres on Friday evening and this morning, demanding that his interrogators be put on trial. In Friday's protest, Palestinian security forces fired in the air to disperse the crowd.

The protests forced nearby Bir Zeit University to close. This evening, Hamas organised another protest in Mr Barghouti's honour in Gaza.

In Gaza, Hamas government spokesman Taher Nunu said the West Bank government Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, appointed after the Gaza takeover, is not legitimate and has no authority to carry out arrests.

"We condemn this crime, we consider it a murder," Mr Nunu said. "We call on citizens not to obey any arrest orders."

Shops were closed in Gaza for several hours today to protest the eight-month closure of the strip.

Israel and Egypt severely restricted access to Gaza after the Hamas takeover, and Israel further limited the movement of people and goods during a spike in rocket fire from Gaza in recent weeks.

Also today, the final findings of an investigation into the fall of Gaza said that Mr Abbas and his security chiefs had detailed evidence of Hamas' plans to seize Gaza by force, yet did not mobilise to try to stop them.

The 76-page report did not hold Palestinian political leaders responsible for the defeat, despite describing Mr Abbas' security forces in Gaza as poorly trained and lacking in leadership, saying as few as 2,000 of Abbas' 50,000 armed men in Gaza showed up to confront Hamas' 20,000 fighters in the final stage.