PFLP member sentenced to one life-term and 5 years for the assassination of Zeevi

Tuesday December 02, 2008 04:39 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

Israeli central Court in Jerusalem sentenced on Monday the head of the armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) Ahed Ghalama, for one life-term and additional five years for the assassination of the then-Israeli Tourism Minister, Rahba’am Zeevi, the Arabs48 news website reported.

Aahid Ghalma

The court claimed that Ghlama supervised the cell that assassinated Zeevi in 2001 in retaliation to the assassination of the PFLP secretary-general Abu Ali Mustafa. Mustafa was assassinated by the Israeli air force while he was at his office in the central West Bank city of Ramallah, several months before Zeevi was killed.

Ghalama, 40, is from Beit Forik village, near the northern West Bank city of Nablus. He was initially imprisoned by the Palestinian Authority at the Jericho Prison in 2002. The Israeli army broke into the prison, which was guarded by European guards who fled the scene shortly before the army attacked it.

Ghalama along with the secretary-general of the PFLP, Ahmad Saadat, and several other PFLP members in addition to the financial official of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) , Fuad Shobaky, were kidnapped by the army.

The lawyer of Ghalama slammed the court’s ruling and stated that Ghalama had nothing to do with the assassination of Zeevi, and added that he will appeal the ruling.

He added that Israel imprisoned and sentenced every person allegedly behind the assassination of Zeevi but did not imprison any Israeli official behind the assassination of Abu Ali Mustafa.  He also said that Israeli military and political officials behind the killing and assassination of thousands of Palestinians were never brought to justice.  

PFLP legislator, Khalida Jarrar, stated that this unjust ruling was issued by an “illegal Zionist Court”.

Jarrar added that the court session was supposed to only to decide whether Ghalama is “guilty or innocent” and that the court was not supposed to sentence Ghalama during the same session.  

She slammed the Israeli military court and said that this court is part of “Zionist terrorism” against freedom fighters, and called on the international community to intervene and denounce the Israeli occupation and its crimes against the Palestinian people and the detainees.

Wafa’, the wife of Ghalama, said that she is sad for the verdict but proud to be the wife of a great leader. She added that the Israeli courts will not and cannot break the will of her husband and the will of thousands of Palestinian political detainees.

In September 2008, the same court sentenced Majdi Al Reemawi, a PFLP leader, to one life-term and additional eighty years for “planning to assassinate Zeevi”. He was indicted on July 2008.

Another Israeli court sentenced in 2006 Mohammad Fahmi to one life-term and Salah Olwy to 12 years. Both were kidnapped by the army shortly after Zeevi was assassinated.

On December 3, 2007, the Israeli court sentenced Hamdi Qar’aan to one life-term after accusing him of shooting Zeevi.  

On February 5, 2008, the court sentenced Basil Asmar to one life-term and additional twenty years for “participating in the assassination of Zeevi”.

israel | prisoners | news report saed at imemc dot org