Palestinian activist gets 4-month sentence

Palestinian activist Bassem Tamimi was sentenced by an Israeli military court on Tuesday to four months in prison for his part in a demonstration last month, activists said. Tamimi, who reached a plea bargain with the prosecution, was also slapped with a 5,000 shekel ($1,283/1,003 euros) fine. He was arrested on October 24 during a flash mob demonstration against Israeli occupation, in an Israeli-owned supermarket adjacent to Geva Binyamin settlement, north of Jerusalem. In May, after spending 13 months in jail awaiting trial for protesting illegally and encouraging youth to throw stones, he had been sentenced to 30 months but then released on the basis of time served. Last week, Amnesty International called on Israel to release him "immediately and unconditionally," after he was again arrested during a protest in the West Bank. The London-based rights group said Tamimi, who has been acknowledged by the European Union as a human rights defender, was the victim of a "campaign of harassment, intimidation and arbitrary detention" by the Israeli military.