Jerusalem–An Israeli military court on Tuesday sentenced Bassam al-Saadi, a senior member of Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad in the occupied West Bank, to 22 months in prison, the army said.
Leader of Islamic Jihad in the north West Bank city of Jenin, Saadi was arrested on August 1 and charged by Israel with supporting and transferring funds to a “terrorist” organisation.
“Bassam al-Saadi was sentenced as part of a plea agreement” and “was convicted of activity in an illegal association, incitement and impersonation”, the army said in a statement.
Saadi worked “alongside additional suspects to advance the Islamic Jihad terrorist organisation’s activities,” it added.
“The military prosecution accepted Saadi’s plea agreement and sentenced him to 22 months in prison, along with a suspended sentence and financial compensation,” the army said.
It did not give details of the length of the suspended sentence, or the amount of the fine.
The August arrest led to threats by Saadi’s Gaza-based organisation, triggering an Israeli offensive against Islamic Jihad in the blockaded Palestinian enclave.
Islamic Jihad said 12 of them were its members, and the United Nations said the deaths included at least 19 children.
Israel insists that some of the civilian deaths including children were killed by Islamic Jihad rockets that fell short or misfired.
Around 200 rockets were fired by Islamic Jihad towards Israel, injuring three.