Settler injured in Gaza Strip ambush; Israel sentences Hamas member to 27 years in prison for alleged ties with Al Qaeda

Published February 4th, 2003 - 03:00 GMT

Palestinian fighters shot and wounded a settler in an ambush in a hothouse area near Kfar Darom settlement early Tuesday.

It said at least two Palestinians fired on settlers going out to work in the hothouses, wounding one in the chest. Reports said his wounds were not life-threatening.

Meanwhile, an Israeli military court Monday sentenced to 27 years in prison a Palestinian from the Gaza Strip who it found was trained by Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network to set up sleeper cells for attacks on Israelis.

Prosecutors charged that Nabil Okal, 29, a member of Hamas, had learned bombmaking at an al Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan in 1998.

The trial was the first conducted by Israeli authorities against a Palestinian with alleged links to al Qaeda. "(Okal) was trained by al Qaeda and dispatched to set up sleeper cells in the territories," a senior Israeli military officer told Reuters.

"I'm innocent!" Okal told reporters outside the military court after it handed down the 27-year sentence at a hearing at Erez crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip. (Albawaba.com)