B'Tselem demonstration (file)
B'Tselem demonstration (file)Flash 90

The purported human rights organization B'Tselem has expressed its support for Nasser Nawajiya, one of its members who was found to be providing the Palestinian Authority (PA) with the identities of Arabs who sell their property to Jews.

In an expose by the TV show "Uvda" on Thursday, Nawajiya and far-left Israeli Jewish activist Ezra Nawi admitted to doing so in order to allow the PA to torture and execute the sellers.

B'Tselem acknowledged the deeds in a Facebook post, but chose to defend Nawajiya rather than to denounce him.

"Nasser Nawajiya, who is mentioned in the report, is a B'Tselem field operative in southern Har Hevron, but he is also a Palestinian from the village of Khirbet Susya... When he found out about a Palestinian with Israeli citizenship who pretended to be a real estate salesperson and offered to sell land, part of which belonged to [Nawajiya's] family, he reported it to the Palestinian authorities.

"This is the only legitimate channel for a Palestinian, given that Israeli authorities do not defend Palestinian landowners in the area from settlers taking over their land," wrote B'Tselem.

The alleged "crime" that is being reported is selling property to a Jew, which is illegal under the Palestinian Authority and punishable by death.

B'Tselem added that it "opposes all torture and all executions...whether they are done in Shin Bet (Israeli Security Agency) cellars or in the Palestinian Authority," but did not comment on the fact that the sales are reported with the full intention that the seller should be killed.

Ironically, the Facebook post attacked "Uvda" for basing its report on video footage, and claimed that the group behind the expose is politically motivated: "The program ignored the differences in power in the area as well as the question of who the right-wing organization serves and who stands behind it. It is not clear if 'Uvda' even checked the series of events."

B'Tselem is famous for providing video clips of IDF soldiers with little or no context, and is frequently accused of having sinister motives and supporters.