Jerusalem Arab sentenced to 16 years for terror ties

Jerusalem Post ^ | Nov. 25, 2003 | ETGAR LEFKOVITS

[yonif]

A Jerusalem Arab who was enlisted by the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine to carry out a series of terror attacks against Israelis, including a shooting attack at a public bus, and a planned attack at The Hebrew University was sentenced late Monday by the Jerusalem District Court to sixteen years in prison, court documents released Tuesday showed.

Hamzeh Darbas, 23, of the east Jerusalem village of Isawiya, was previously convicted in the same court on charges of attempted murder, conspiracy to commit a crime, attempted robbery, illegally carrying arms, and membership in a terror organization for a string of security-related crimes committed during a three month period last year.

Darbas, who had confessed to most of the charges against him, took part in a February 2002 shooting attack at an Egged bus, which, the court noted, by "sheer miracle" failed to cause any injuries.

Several bullets hit the 174 bus line, but failed to kill the driver, which was the aim of the attack, the court said. On another occasion, the accused also took part in a planned shooting attack against security guards stationed at the entrance to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem at Mount Scopus, adjacent to his home village, and the site of last year's deadly bombing at a popular campus cafeteria.

Together with his DFLP operator, the two men, armed with a handgun, came within 100 meters of their intended target, but turned back after Darbas said he had changed his mind, and decided not to carry out the attack.

Since his arrest last year, the defendant, the court noted, who had no past criminal record, has been studying languages at the Open University. He told the court that his studies "clarified the significance of his actions and their influence on the society," noting that he would not carry out the attacks again today.

In their ruling, the panel of three justices accepted the prosecution's request to sentence Darbas to sixteen years in jail, noting that even if he was not the "dominant figure" in a seven-member DFLP cell from Isawiya, who had previously received sentenced ranging from 16-25 years in jail, this does not reduce the severity of the charges against him.

Of all his crimes, the justices singled out the shooting attack on the bus, which the court noted "only miraculously did not result in the loss of life or bodily injury."