Ofer military court sentenced Ibrahim Abu Hijleh to a 28 month sentence on October 13. Abu Hijleh is one of the former prisoners who was released in the October 2011 prisoner exchange, and was soon re-arrested. The Israeli military prosecutors originally sought to re-impose his original sentence and imprison him for an additional 16 years.
Abu Hijleh’s circumstances were similar to those of Ayman Sharawneh and Samer Issawi, who conducted lengthy hunger strikes demanding their release after re-arrest on dubious grounds. In Abu Hijleh’s case, Palestinian lawyer Jawad Boulos announced that the 28-month agreement had been struck prior to Abu Hijleh launching a similar hunger strike.
Boulos said that the occupation did not produce any substantive charges or evidence against Abu Hijleh, claiming instead that he was “violating terms of the exchange deal” and noting that he is a member of the Political Bureau of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Prior to his release in 2011, Abu Hijleh served 8 years in occupation prisons. He will be released on October 13, 2014 and will serve his sentence from the date of June 15, 2012 when he was re-arrested.
