"Rejected in Life and Death"... The Enigma of Palestinian Collaborators in the Israeli Shadows

SadaNews - In one of the most ambiguous stories of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the tale of Khalil Dwaas reveals the complicated and mysterious fate of Palestinians suspected of cooperating with Israeli intelligence, where betrayal intertwines with pressure, secrecy mingles with violence, and the story often concludes outside any clear narrative.

On October 14, the Hamas movement handed over four corpses to Israel as part of a body exchange that occurred in the framework of a ceasefire agreement in Gaza, mediated by the United States.

Israeli examinations quickly confirmed the identities of three bodies belonging to soldiers killed in the attack on October 7, 2023, while the fourth corpse was announced not to belong to any Israeli soldier. However, Hamas insisted on its narrative, stating: "He is one of yours," according to the British international newspaper, The Guardian.

Between the two narratives, the name Khalil Dwaas emerged, a Palestinian who, according to local sources, became a symbol of the "gray area" in this conflict, where he is not accepted in his community nor by the entity he is suspected of collaborating with.

Dwaas was born in Jabalia, northern Gaza Strip, and his family later moved to the West Bank, settling in the village of Tal near Nablus, before he eventually arrived at the Aqabat Jabr refugee camp in Jericho. There, in his youth, he joined one of the Palestinian factions and was later arrested twice by Israel, spending more than six years in prison, the last being an administrative detention in 2020 at Ofer prison.

Camp residents believe that this period marked a turning point in his life. According to local testimonies, his behavior began to change after his release, with indicators that raised suspicions, including selling ammunition at low prices and asking questions described as "unusual". With a large-scale Israeli raid on the camp at the beginning of 2023, suspicions turned into public accusations, as the international newspaper recalls.

In February of that year, Israeli forces stormed the Aqabat Jabr camp after a siege lasting several days, resulting in the deaths of five Palestinians. A few days later, the Palestinian Authority detained Dwaas on suspicion of collaborating with Israel, but he was later released due to insufficient evidence. However, the release did not restore his status; he became ostracized in his community and faced assaults before being forced to leave Jericho.

After leaving the camp, Dwaas completely disappeared from the scene. Nothing was known about him for a full year until Hamas announced in May 2024 that its fighters had killed Israeli soldiers inside a tunnel in Jabalia. Days later, the movement released a video of a body wearing a military uniform. According to those who knew him, the body was Khalil Dwaas.

Despite the clarity of his identity, questions remained unanswered: How did he get there? In what capacity? Why was he wearing an Israeli military uniform? Questions without answers reflect the nature of this silenced file.

Later, after the bodies were handed over, Israel offered to return Dwaas's body to his family, but the offer was rejected. A Palestinian official in Jericho said: "There was a consensus that accepting the body would be understood as condoning betrayal. Therefore, it was rejected, alive and dead."

In Palestinian society, the accusation of collaboration is a stain that does not fade, with repercussions that extend to the family and the grave alike. In many cases, funerals are prevented or postponed, and burial can be refused for fear of backlash.

Researchers conclude that the issue of collaborators remains one of the most sensitive files: embarrassing for Israel, burdened with shame for Palestinians, and surrounded by dense silence that makes reaching the truth almost impossible.

To this day, it is unknown where Khalil Dwaas was buried, if he was buried at all. A story that ended as it began: in the shadows, without recognition, and without acceptance, as The Guardian states.