OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, 25 December 2002 — An Israeli court yesterday handed seven life sentences to Nasser Abu Hamid, a lieutenant of jailed West Bank Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti, court sources said.
The Jerusalem District Court found that Abu Hamid received arms and funding from Barghouti for the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a group linked to Palestinian President Yasser Arafat’s Fatah faction.
Barghouti, a leader of Fatah in the West Bank, was detained by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank in April and is on trial in Israel on murder charges related to the deaths of 26 Israelis. He has denied involvement in attacks. In its verdict, the court said Abu Hamid acknowledged helping to form the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.
Abu Hamid, described by Israeli authorities as a close aide to Barghouti, was sentenced to seven consecutive life sentences plus an additional 50 years for what the court said was his involvement in the killing of seven Israelis.
“I have no regrets...The Palestinians have a legitimate right to fight against (Israeli) occupation. I fought,” Abu Hamid told reporters in the courtroom.
In Bethlehem, the mayor of the city said yesterday Israel was planning to seize hundreds of acres of land from the edge of the West Bank town during its reoccupation.
“The Israeli occupation of Bethlehem is not to hunt down wanted Palestinians but to build a wall and confiscate 2,700 dunums (675 acres) of land from the city near the Jewish settlement of Gilo,” Mayor Hanna Nasser told journalists here.
He said the land grab would isolate 56 Palestinian homes which would not be officially annexed to Israel but which would be under Israeli security control, making access to the city extremely difficult for residents. He said work on the wall started 10 days ago and that, when completed, it would stretch 2.8 km and be up to eight meters high.
The Israeli Army, meanwhile, pressed on with its offensive destroying 21 houses in an overnight operation in Rafah and leaving 56 Palestinian families homeless. Officials at the Rafah governor’s offices said that the Israeli forces destroyed 21 houses, seriously damaged 10 and partially damaged a further 46 which were however still habitable.
Two Palestinians, one of them a 65-year-old woman, were wounded in the raid, Palestinian security sources said.
Israeli soldiers also killed a 14-year-old Palestinian and moderately wounded five others when they fired tank shells at a group of youths near Gaza City, hospital officials and witnesses reported.
Witnesses said they saw the youths approach a graveyard east of Gaza City and suddenly heard several explosions.
They added the blasts were caused by tank shells fired by Israeli troops stationed on the Gaza Strip’s eastern border with Israel. Shiffa Hospital in the city identified the deceased as Mohammed Breek.
In Gaza City, Palestinian International Cooperation Minister Nabil Shaath told AFP talks hosted by Britain on progress in reforming the Palestinian Authority will be held on Jan. 13-14.
