A Palestinian military court in Ramallah sentenced a security officer to death by firing squad on Wednesday after he was found guilty of collaboration with Israel, Palestinian judicial sources said.

Identified only by the initials AD, the condemned was sentenced to death in accordance with article 131 of the Palestinian Military Law of Punishment of 1979.

The defendant confessed to having been recruited by the Israeli intelligence service in 1992 to spy on Palestinian activists and fellow security officers concerning armament and movement.

His information led to the detention of two Palestinian activists by Israeli forces, according to Palestinian judicial sources.

AD, born in 1968 in a Ramallah district, was an adjutant in the Palestinian national forces and was detained by the Palestinian Military Intelligence service on 30 June 2000.

The condemned has 15 days to appeal the verdict. Under Palestinian law, President Mahmoud Abbas is required to approve any judicial decision on death sentences.