Israeli court sentences Fatah lawmaker to 30 years

Jamal Tirawi (MaanImages/file)

NABLUS (Ma’an) -- An Israeli military court on Monday sentenced Fatah-affiliated lawmaker Jamal Tirawi to 30 years in jail, his brother said, after a trial which ran on for four years.

Tirawi's brother told Ma'an that the court convicted the elected official of being a commander in Fatah's military wing, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.

The court also found Tirawi guilty of planning and undertaking operations against Israel.

His brother described the verdict as unjust, and said his family would appeal.

Tirawi was detained by Israeli forces from his home in Balata refugee camp in Nablus on May 25, 2007 and held for over four years as his trial was postponed more than 70 times.

As deputy speaker of Fatah's parliamentary bloc in the West Bank, he was the first Fatah-affiliated elected official to be detained following the 2006 Palestinian general elections.

Maan News Agency