In the Associated Press’s version of the story of the Palestinian man murdered by terrorists in front of a cheering, dancing crowd, Mohammed Ballas helpfully informs us that the victim deserved to die: Militants Kill Alleged Collaborator.

QABATIYA, West Bank - Cheered on by a crowd, Palestinian gunmen Friday killed a man for allegedly collaborating with Israel and sexually abusing his two young daughters.

Hamad Rafiq Abdel Razek, 42, was gunned down in a public square in the West Bank village of Qabatiya by militants from the Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, a violent group loosely affiliated with Yasser Arafat’s Fatah movement.

Jamal Abu al Rob, a local Al Aqsa leader, said Abdel Razek was abducted by the group Friday from a nearby hospital. During two days of interrogations, Abdel Razek admitted spying for Israel since 1989 and trying to recruit a Jordanian officer to spy for Israel, al Rob said. He also admitted abusing his daughters, now 16 and 13, over many years, al Rob said.

Abdel Razek had been hospitalized since last month after a relative stabbed him for the alleged abuse, relatives said. Abdel Razek was paraded into a public square early Friday. The militants announced the charges against him and asked the crowd of some 500 people what they should do. “Kill him immediately!” the crowd chanted. The militants then riddled his body with automatic gunfire.

“I feel honor for me and my people,” al Rob said. “People like this belong below the ground, not above it.”

In the nearby village of Tubas, Abdel Razek’s relatives said the charges against him were true. The family refused to pick up the body at the hospital, a sign of contempt in Palestinian society.

And even if this wasn’t the best way to handle the situation, AP writer Mohammed Ballas also informs us that it’s Israel’s fault anyway.

Palestinian officials say Israel’s control of the West Bank limits their ability to maintain law and order, and armed militants are given free rein in many areas.

Israeli intelligence makes frequent use of Palestinian informants to target wanted Palestinians. Dozens of suspected collaborators have been killed by fellow Palestinians during nearly four years of violence with Israel.