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| Middle East |
| Makeshift Palestinian court convicts 4 in Israeli official's death |
| 2002-04-25 |
| A makeshift court inside Yasser Arafat's compound convicted four Palestinians on Thursday for last year's assassination of Israel's tourism minister, Rehavam Zeevi. The men's trial was held Monday, with security officers acting as judges and a policeman assigned as defense attorney. Arafat approved the sentences, Arafat aide Nabil Abu Rdeneh said from inside the shell-shattered headquarters. This was a cynical exercise in drumhead court martial. The convictions are meaningless if the sentences aren't served, and the PA has a history of springing the Bad Guys at the least excuse. Hamdi Quran was sentenced to 18 years in prison for allegedly shooting Zeevi in a Jerusalem hotel on Oct. 17. Quran's alleged lookout, Basel Al-Asmar, received 12 years; getaway driver Majdi Rimawi, eight years; and Ahmad Gholmy was jailed for one year for knowing of the plot but failing to inform authorities. Gholmy's the one who took it in the shorts. He could have told everyone he knew, and the plan still would have gone ahead as planned. Palestinian human rights activist Bassem Eid denounced the conviction, saying the security court violated "international standards for fair trial." And this is unusual because...? The move appeared unlikely to end Israel's siege of Arafat's compound. Israel says it won't lift its encirclement of Arafat's offices until the men are handed over. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon dismissed the convictions announced Thursday and said the demands still stand. That's pretty good evidence that Sharon hasn't been dropped on his head... Israel also demands the surrender of Fouad Shubaki, who Israel says was behind a ship caught smuggling 50 tons of weapons from Iran to the Palestinians. Shoubaki, as everyone knows, has been under arrest since January. That's probably why Yasser's keeping him close by. Sharon told The New York Times he would consider letting Arafat leave his compound and move to the Gaza Strip. Arafat would not be allowed, however, to take any of the wanted men with him, Sharon said in an interview published Thursday. Well, it ain't a nuthouse in Morocco, but it's better than having him underfoot in Ramallah... Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat dismissed the idea, telling the Times that Sharon "wants to renew his occupation of the West Bank, and he wants to exile Arafat to Gaza." If I was Sharon, I'd be trying to talk Jordan into taking the West Bank. Failing that, I'd try to give it to Norway, or Botswana, or Peru... |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |
| #1 Weren't the judge and prosecutor for this trial effectively collaborating with the Israelis? Shouldn't they therefore recieve the typical punishment for such? |
| Posted by: Hermetic 2002-04-25 12:56:58 |