Fatah changed its ways. Abbas
Photo: AP
Israeli Fatah member gets 7-year jail term
Nazareth District Court hands out seven year prison sentence to man accused of conspiring with enemy, recruiting activists to carry out attacks in Israel
In the past, encounters between Israeli citizens and Fatah representatives were considered a grave offence, for which some, such as late left-wing activist Abie Nathan, were sent to prison.
Throughout the years, things changed as Israel signed the Oslo accord , and in the near future Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is slated to meet with Fatah chief Mahmoud Abbas .
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Ursan Asad, 58, from the Galilee village of Iksal, who was considered one of the organization's senior members in the past, was sentenced on Sunday to seven years in prison, as well as a NIS 25,000 (about $6,500) fine, after being convicted of assisting and conspiring with the enemy at a time of war.
Asad moved from Israel to Lebanon when he was 18 and later settled in Algeria, where he joined the Fatah and was in charge of recruiting activists into the ranks of the organization.
As part of his activities Asad met in Europe with Israeli Arabs, and later trained and briefed them on preparing demolition charges that were used to carry out attacks in Israel. Asad returned to Israel two years ago, and was arrested by authorities.
During his trial, Asad's defense attorney claimed that despite Fatah being labeled as a terrorist organization in the past, the organization has changed its ways throughout the years, and therefore there was no basis for Asad's trial.
"My client encouraged Fatah members to support the peace process and even assisted Israel's security forces to receive information about missing navigator Ron Arad and those missing in the Battle of Sultan Yacoub," said Asad's attorney.
The verdict was reached by a majority of two out of three judges. Justice Avraham Avraham, who held the minority opinion, argued that Fatah was no longer considered a terrorist organization, and therefore the defendant's sentence should be reduced to only three years in prison and no fine.
'Sought deaths of Israelis'
The two other judges on the panel, Nazareth District Court Vice President Yitzhak Cohen and Justice Yonatan Avraham, listed Asad's offences, among them placing demolition charges in Haifa, Nahariya and Kiryat Bialik in 1989.Cohen and Avraham emphasized that the fact Asad held an Israeli citizenship, unlike other Fatah members, changed the circumstances of the defendant's affiliation with the organization.
The court's vice president noted that the verdict did not reflect the full severity of Asad's offences, which are punishable with life sentences and death penalties according to the penal law.
Cohen added that during the hearings, the defendant did not express any remorse or regret for his actions. "A punishment needs to reflect reward and deterrence according to the severity of the defendant's actions, who for 11 years sought the deaths of Israeli citizens."
