Palestinian Jailed For Selling Land To Jews Transferred To U.S.
Image by Getty Images
JERUSALEM (JTA) — A Palestinian-American man sentenced by a Palestinian Authority court to life in prison for selling land in eastern Jerusalem to a Jewish Israeli was transferred to the United States.
Issam Akel, of Bethlehem, was handed over to American authorities in the aftermath of a secret deal signed between the P.A. and U.S. officials, Israel’s Kan national broadcaster reported Thursday evening.
Akel, who had worked for the Palestinian Authority, is accused of being a middleman between the Palestinian owner of the home located in the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City and the Jewish organization that purchased it.
He lived in the United States for 12 years. As an eastern Jerusalem resident, Akel also holds a blue Israeli identification card. His four siblings and their families continue to reside in the United States.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
