A Palestinian court sentenced an American-Palestinian man on Monday to life imprisonment for violating a ban on selling land to Jews, judiciary officials said. Another man convicted of the same crime was sentenced to death.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman called in November for dual national Issam Akel to be released, saying his suspected crime was "selling land to a Jew" and his incarceration violated American values.
Akel was accused of attempting to sell a property in east Jerusalem without the permission of his business partners or Palestinian authorities. Palestinian officials have not publicly identified the intended buyer.
The Higher Offenses Court in Ramallah, in the West Bank, convicted Akel of "attempting to sever parts of Palestinian land and annex it to a foreign state," the judiciary media office said.
"In light of the conviction, the court handed down a life sentence with hard labor," it said. Akel can appeal, a judiciary official said.
With help from the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, Akel's wife was able to visit him last Tuesday for just five minutes at a Palestinian detention center in Ramallah.
"He looked tired and haggard and didn't stop crying," his wife told Israel Hayom, saying that the visit was held in the presence of PA security officials. The woman added that she also expects the Israeli government to act through diplomatic channels to help free her husband, who has Israeli residency status.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, along with U.S. Embassy officials, were working through back channels on the matter.
An official at the U.S. Embassy said: "We are aware of reports that a U.S. citizen has been sentenced by a Palestinian court. When a U.S. citizen is incarcerated abroad, the U.S. government works to provide all appropriate consular assistance."
Akel's family, which denied the allegations against him, said it was unaware of the verdict or sentence.
Palestinian law bars selling land to "a hostile state or any of its citizens." It requires the permission of the Palestinian Authority, which exercises self-rule in sections of the West Bank, for all land sales in east Jerusalem.
Akel was detained on Oct. 10 in Ramallah, an Israeli security official said.
Israel said its security services had appealed to their Palestinian counterparts for Akel's release.
In November, security forces arrested Adnan Ghaith, a high ranking Palestinian official, on suspicion of involvement in Akel's detention.
Adnan Ghaith, who acts as Jerusalem's governor for the Palestinian Authority, was arrested by Border Police.
Maj. Gen. Adnan Al-Dmairi, a spokesman for the Palestinian Authority's security forces, said 20 people had been arrested in recent years on suspicion of violating land laws.
