The family members of Palestinian prisoner Omar al-Abed, 19, who have already seen their home in the Ramallah-area village of Kobar demolished in an act of illegitimate collective punishment by the Israeli occupation, were sentenced by the Ofer military court on Sunday, 27 August to prison terms, reported Palestinian lawyer Fadi al-Qawasmeh. The sentences come as another act of collective punishment targeting the family members of al-Abed in an attempt to frighten other young Palestinians from engaging in resistance activity.
Al-Abed remains imprisoned, accused of killing three Israeli occupation settlers in the illegal settlement of Halamish built on stolen Palestinian land inside the occupied West Bank of Palestine one month ago.
His mother, Ibtisam al-Abed, was sentenced to 31 days in prison and a fine of 3,000 NIS ($830 USD), whie his father was sentenced to 60 days imprisonment. His brother and his uncle were hit even harder and sentenced to eight months of imprisonment on the basis of dubious claims by Israeli occupation forces of his relatives’ “knowledge” that Omar may carry out the armed action in the settlement.
Qawasmi emphasized that the sentences indicated once more that the military courts are nothing more than a tool of Israeli intelligence and the Netanyahu government carrying out a policy of collective punishment against the Palestinian people.
