A Palestinian man detained by Islamic Jihad members in the Gaza Strip last week on suspicion of "collaboration" with Israel has been found dead in a Hamas-controlled prison, sources in Gaza City said Wednesday.

This is the first case of its kind since Hamas took full control over the Gaza Strip last month.
They said the man, Fadel Duhmush, was caught after being secretly filmed by Islamic Jihad activists as he infiltrated the Gaza Strip with the help of IDF soldiers.

The two-minute film, which was posted on the Islamic Jihad Web site, showed an IDF jeep approaching the security fence along the border with the Gaza Strip.

Duhmush is seen dressed in an IDF uniform as he gets off the jeep and approaches the fence, escorted by two soldiers.

Before jumping over the fence, he is seen changing from his IDF outfit into civilian clothes. The soldiers then collect the military uniform and leave the area.

Islamic Jihad officials in the Gaza Strip claimed that Duhmush was a former member of the group recruited to work for the Israeli security services.

They said it was the first time that a "collaborator" had been caught "red-handed."

Duhmush was being held in the main prison in Gaza City, where he was reportedly subjected to brutal torture during his interrogation, the sources told the Post. They said the circumstances of his death remained unknown.

A spokesman for Islamic Jihad claimed that the 31-year-old Duhmush had committed suicide in his prison cell.

The spokesman said his body was discovered early Wednesday morning and was transferred to Shifa Hospital because the victim's family refused to bury him out of fear for their lives.

A Palestinian journalist in Gaza City said Duhmush had been handed over to Hamas a few days after he was captured by Islamic Jihad members. "I heard from people who saw the body that he had been brutally tortured in the Hamas prison," he said.