The Jerusalem District Court on Monday sentenced Majdi Rahima Rimawi to life imprisonment and an additional 80 years, to be served consecutively, for his part in the 2001 assassination of Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze'evi at the Jerusalem Hyatt Hotel.
Rahima, a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), is believed to be the mastermind behind the assassination, and the two gunmen, Basel al-Asmar andHamdi Quran's ,direct handler; supplying them with a photo of Ze'evi, a fake Israeli ID and details about the layout of the hotel.
The 43-year-old was found guilty ofconspiracy to commit murder, accessory to murder and membership in a terror organization in late July.
The court did rule, however, that Rahima's sentence would include time served since his arrest by the Palestinian Authority, in 2002.
"We are pleased with the sentence and pleased with the fact that the court accepted the State's stand in this case," Attorney Oshrat Shoham, of the Jerusalem District Prosecution, told Ynet. "This is one of the harshest sentences rendered in a case of this nature."
Rehavam Ze'evi was gunned down at Jerusalem's Hyatt hotel on October 17, 2001. His wife, Yael, found him shot outside their hotel room.
He was rushed to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem in critical condition and later died of his wounds.