Israeli judge finds Palestinian man guilty of involvement in 2001 killing

Tuesday January 08, 2008 13:45 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC News

Bassel Asmar, a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), was convicted Monday of being an accessory to the killing of Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavem Zeevi in 2001.

PFLP Logo

Asmar is the second Palestinian to have been convicted in the case. The judge ruled that, although Asmar was not directly involved in the assassination, he was guilty of assisting in the planning of the attack, and was sentenced to life in prison.

In December, the same court sentenced another member of the PFLP, Hamdi Qur'an, to a life sentence plus twenty years in prison for his involvement in the incident.

Zeevi was shot and killed in the Hyatt hotel in Jerusalem in 2001, allegedly by members of the PFLP.

Ahmed Sa'adat, the leader of the leftist PFLP resistance group, and the target of a well-publicized March 2006 Israeli raid on the Palestinian-run prison in Jericho, has also been indicted by Israeli courts for being the head of the organization when the assassination took place. Attorney General Menachem Mazuz has ruled there was not enough evidence to indict Saadat in the killing itself.

Asmar is one of four men being charged in Zeevi's death who were taken prisoner in humiliating circumstances by Israeli forces last March from Jericho prison.

palestine | prisoners | news report saed at imemc dot org