Israel calls for four Palestinians to be handed over for trial
Israeli is calling for four Palestinians to be handed over to stand trial in its terrority, despite being jailed for the murder of the Israeli Tourism Minister.
The four were jailed for between 1-18 years at a make shift courthouse in Yasser Arafat’s Ramallah compound.
Israeli Government spokesperson, Ari Mekel, has dismissed the proceedings as nothing more than a show.
"In this case it is a capital offence, they killed the Minister of Israel in the city of Jerusalem, our capital.
These men must be handed over to the people of Israel, we will certainly continue to demand it.
What we saw today in Ramallah is not some show, it is not justice, it is some sort of an attempt to fool the world but no one is going to fall for it."
The makeshift court found four Palestinians guilty of assassinating Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi in Jerusalem last October.
A senior Palestinian official said the four were sentenced to between one and 18 years in jail.
He also said Mr Arafat had approved the sentences. Israel had refused to lift its month-old siege on Mr Arafat’s Ramallah compound because it said the suspects for Zeevi’s assassination were hiding inside.
The Israeli Government had demanded that the men face trial, but it is unclear if it will consider today’s proceedings as sufficient.
