Palestinian who stormed Turkish embassy in TA jailed

Nadim Injaz of Ramallah convicted in framework of plea bargain of breaking into building under severe circumstances, assaulting civil servant, making threats. Palestinian was previously jailed for infiltrating UK embassy

Naama Cohen-Friedman|Published: 03.17.11 , 17:13

Ramallah resident Nadim Injaz, who was shot after he barricaded himself inside the Turkish embassy in Tel Aviv last August, was sentenced on Thursday to two years in prison.

The Tel Aviv District Court convicted the Palestinian man of breaking into a building, assaulting a civil servant, making threats and staying in Israel illegally.

Injaz had admitted to the charges against him, as they were listed in a revised indictment filed with the court.

In her ruling, Judge Gilya Ravid wrote, "Whatever his motives were, (Injaz's) actions cannot be taken lightly or accepted. Infiltrating a foreign embassy, threatening to commit acts of violence with a weapon and flammable materials, as well as assaulting embassy personnel – these are very severe acts which can not only cause panic, but can also spin out of control and endanger the public. (The acts) can also harm the State of Israel's foreign relations."

The judge also addressed Injaz's fear that he would be executed in Ramallah if forced to return to the West Bank city, which is under Palestinian Authority control. "As much as (the court) can sympathize with (Injaz's) plight, it cannot accept his actions, which justify a worthy punishment," Ravid wrote.

The judge also mentioned that Injaz had already been sentenced to 14 months in jail for breaking into the British embassy in Tel Aviv in 2006. The court eventually reduced the sentence. "There is no doubt that the current incident is more severe than the previous one as far as the violence displayed by the defendant is concerned," Judge Ravid said in the ruling.

Staff members at the Turkish embassy said following the incident that Injaz arrived at the compound on Yarkon Street in Tel Aviv in the evening hours on Tuesday, jumped the section of the fence not covered by security cameras, and climbed from the drainpipe to the second floor. He entered the deputy consul's room and demanded that she grant him political asylum.

The diplomat told him that the embassy was closed, but Injaz was persistent. Embassy security was called. Injaz continued to resist arrest and was shot following a skirmish that developed on the site. Turkish diplomats said that he tried to take hostages at knife-point and was also armed with what turned out to be a toy gun.

Injaz claims that he has served since 2002 as a Palestinian collaborator for the Shin Bet, which he asserts even tried to convince him to assassinate Marwan Barghouti. In recent years, he apparently ceased his activities and abandoned his operators, but feared for his life in the Palestinian Authority, where he is wanted for treason.