Occupied Ramallah, (PIC)-- A middle-aged Palestinian man from a village near Ramallah has died, apparently of severe bodily torture at the hands of the PA Mukhabarat or General Intelligence.

According to family sources, Majd Abdul Aziz al Barghouthi, 42, died Friday after he was subjected for seven days to severe physical torture at the Mukhabarat dungeons in Ramallah.

A relative told this reporter that Barghouthi, an imam at the local Mosque of the village of Kobar, near Ramallah, was rushed to hospital Friday afternoon after he lost consciousness.

“He was in a critical condition as a result of harsh beating, burns, and other forms of torture,” said Muhammed al Barghouthi.

“Signs of torture and burns were all over his body.”

Al-Barghouthi’s body was transferred to the Abu Dis forensic institute for an autopsy to determine the exact causes of death.

Back in the village of Kobar, mosques began reciting Quranic verses through loudspeakers as locals expressed their indignation with the PA.

One villager contacted by telephone described the Abbas’ government as “slaves of Israel and the CIA.”

“They are murdering their own people in order to please America and Israel,” said Hassan al Barghouthi, a distant relative of the deceased.

Majd al Barghouthi was arrested at his home last week, and has ever since been subjected to severe torture until his death Friday evening.

Al-Barghouthi is a relative of Marwan Barghouthi, the imprisoned Fatah leader.

It is not clear if Israeli torturers or Shin Beth agents took part in the torture.  Since the summer of 2006, when Hamas carried out a countercoup against CIA-backed Fatah forces, headed by former Fatah Gaza strongman Muhammed Dahlan, there has been a close cooperation and coordination between Israel and PA security agencies.

The cooperation is supervised by an American general by the name of Keith Dayton.