En palæstinensisk domstol har idømt en amerikansk borger livsvarigt fængsel for at have medvirket til salg af palæstinensisk jord til jøder.

A Palestinian Authority (PA) court in Ramallah has sentenced a U.S. citizen to life in prison with hard labor today for the crime of selling property to Jews, a capital offense in the PA.

Akel blev bortført af palæstinensisk sikkerhedspoliti i Ramallah 11. oktober. Han blev dømt for at have forsøgt at sælge palæstinensisk jord til en fremmed stat.

Issam Akel, 53, a U.S. citizen and a holder of an Israeli national identity card, was abducted by PA intelligence on October 11 in Ramallah. According to Reuters, the PA court’s media office said Akel was convicted of “attempting to sever parts of Palestinian land and annex it to a foreign state,” namely Israel.

Dette er en så alvorlig forbrydelse at det fortjener livsvarigt fængsel med hårdt arbejde, mener domstolen.

“In light of the conviction, the court handed down a life sentence with hard labor,” the court ruled.

Det er kendt, at jødiske interesser via mellemmænd forsøger at købe jord i Østjerusalem. I dette tilfælde var det en palæstinensisk enke som solgte sit hus. Det som lokker er ofte en høj pris. Måske ved de ikke engang at de sælger til jøder. Akel har tidligere arbejdet for det palæstinensiske selvstyre. Man må formode at det giver troværdighed.

Nu har det palæstinensiske selvstyres religiøse råd udstedt en fatwa, som siger at salg af jord til jøder er højforræderi, både mod religionen og nationen.

Following Akel’s abduction in October, the PA’s religious council issued a fatwaruling that Palestinians selling property to non-Muslims would be considered an act of “high treason,” adding that such sales are “a great betrayal of religion, the homeland, and morals.”

Palæstinensisk lov forbyder allerede salg af jord til jøder eller israelske foretagender.

PA laws prohibit any sales of property to any Israeli person or corporation.

Men så tæt som palæstinensere og jøder bor og lever er en sådan håndhævning problematisk. Det lokker til at bruge stråmænd. Som bekendt er israelske arabere en stor gruppe og økonomiske interesser trumfer det meste.

Hvordan reagerer det palæstinensiske selvstyre på disse “udfordringer”? Med vold.

Earlier this month, a Palestinian man who was accused of selling property to Jews was gunned down in his West Bank town. Ahmed Salama, a resident of Jaljulia who was wanted by the PA for alleged property sales, was murdered near his home on December 7:

“Samlivet” er kompliceret og det er ikke bare mellemmænd som tjener jødiske interesser. Også venstreorienterede fungerer som spioner og informanter for palæstinenserne.

Israeli prosecutors filed charges against a far left-wing activist in July for working with PA security services, alleging he was helping them track property sales to Jewish organizations, thereby endangering the lives of the sellers.

Palæstinensiske myndigheder fejlvurderer situationen, når de tror de kan udfordre USA og Israel ved at idømme en amerikaner livsvarigt fængsel for salg af et stykke jord. Israelske myndigheder har selvfølgelig mange strenge de kan spille på.

In response to Akel’s abduction, a number of PA officials were arrested last month by the Israeli government. Included in these arrests was Adnan Geith, the governor of the Jerusalem District of the Palestinian Authority, whom Israeli authorities believe was directly involved in Akel’s abduction.

The PA’s Minister of Jerusalem Affairs Adnan Husseini, who has advocated for Akel’s continued detention, has been banned from foreign travel. Husseini has been accused of targeting Palestinians for selling property to Israelis.

Palestinian Authority Sentences U.S. Citizen to Life in Prison for Selling Jerusalem Apartment to Jews