US court questions Palestinian held in Israel

A US court has questioned a Palestinian prisoner held in Israel, Rassd.com reported on Wednesday. Abdullah Al-Barghouti was interrogated about claims of his responsibility for killing US citizens before 2003.

The proceedings took place via video conferencing, with Al-Barghouti sitting in an Israeli court in Jerusalem. According to Rassd.com, the interrogation lasted for four hours. It claimed that the prisoner was subjected to severe physical pressure during the interrogation because he did not respond to the US interrogators.

Safa news agency gave more details about the interrogation. It said that Al-Barghouti did not confirm his identity when asked, and said that he did not recognise the court so would not deal with it. He was returned to solitary confinement when the interrogation ended.

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Al-Barghouti is accused of sending suicide bombers on their missions. Israeli Special Forces kidnapped him when he was taking his daughter for treatment in hospital in 2003. He was given 67 life sentences and has spent more than eight years in solitary confinement.