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Report: 489 Palestinian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment in Israeli jails

June 24, 2016 at 12:43 pm

The number of Palestinian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment in Israeli jails has increased to 489 after Israel’s Salem Military Court issued new life sentences against four prisoners from Nablus, a new report revealed.

The Palestinian Prisoners Centre for Studies said in a statement on Thursday that the Israeli court hands down life sentences against Palestinians accused of killing Israeli citizens or planning attacks that lead to the deaths of Israeli citizens.

The statement added the prisoners with the highest number of life sentences are Abdullah Ghalib al-Barghouthi from Ramallah, who was sentenced to life imprisonment 67 times, followed by Ibrahim Jamil Hamid, who is sentenced to 54 life sentences on charges of leading the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades in West Bank and being responsible for many suicide attacks.

The centre expected the number of prisoners sentenced to life in Israeli jails to increase in the coming period, since there are many Palestinians being prosecuted on charges of taking part in operations that led to the deaths of Israeli citizens.

The Salem Military Court sentenced Yahya al-Haj Hamad, Amjad Illweiwi, Karam El- Masri and Samir Kousa on Wednesday to two life sentences and 30 years each regarding charges of shooting two settlers near Itamar settlement in October 2015.