A young Palestinian man was sentenced to 17 years in prison when a Palestinian Authority court this week convicted him of helping Israeli forces eliminate a dangerous terrorist five years ago.

The court convicted the man of illegal collaboration for providing Israeli forces with information that led to the targeted killing of a top Fatah terrorist commander in the Samarian town of Kalkilya in 2004.

Palestinian courts routinely convict Palestinians of collaborating with Israel in its war on terror, despite the fact that the Palestinian Authority is obligated under the terms of several signed peace agreements to itself combat the plague of anti-Israel terrorism.

Those convicted of this crime are usually given life in prison with hard labor or death. The young man sentenced this week received a relatively light punishment because he was a minor when he aided Israel.