Military court sentences man to 15 years for 'Al-Qaeda ties'

Published today (updated) 23/07/2009 17:19

Bethlehem - Ma'an/Agencies - A young Palestinian man was sentenced to 15 years in an Israeli jail on charges he was affiliated to Al-Qaeda, according to news reports on Thursday.

The Hebrew-language Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported that Darwish Abu Ayash, 21, was accused of joining Al-Qaeda in 2005, and had planned suicide attacks in Jerusalem.

The Palestinian refugee from Balata Refugee Camp, near Nablus, was convicted on the charges by judges at the so-called Samaria military court. Samaria is a Hebrew word used to refer to the northern West Bank.

Meanwhile, Israel’s Ofer military court found an 18-year-old man from Al-Khader village guilty of affiliation to the Al-Aqsa Brigades, which is affiliated with Fatah. Muhammad Hassan Salah was sentenced on Wednesday night to three years and two months in prison and a penalty of 2,000 shekels, the court said.