Abbas To Execute Arab For Fulfilling Agreement With Israel (Updated)

...cooperation between Israel and the Palestinian Authority on counterterrorism is a precondition under agreements for the relinquishment of land for a Palestinian Arab state.
Eli Lake

If this man is executed, all current plans to create a Palestinian Arab state should be killed along with it.

Appeal Is Made to Bush To Save Arab Accused of Helping Israel
Famed Refusenik Issues a Call To Save an Arab

By ELI LAKE

An officer in the Palestinian Authority’s National Security Forces, Imad Sa’ad, is led away after being sentenced to death by a Palestinian military court on April 28 for collaborating with Israel, court officials and security sources said.

WASHINGTON — A Palestinian Authority police officer accused of helping Israel with counterterrorism is facing death at the hands of a firing line unless a last-minute appeal to President Bush can save him.

The cause of the police officer, Imad Sa'ad, is being championed by a woman who became famous as a political prisoner in the Soviet Union before she moved to Israel in 1987, Ida Nudel. It comes as Secretary of State Rice this weekend arrived in Israel for another round of diplomacy aimed at creating an independent Palestinian Arab state before the end of the Bush presidency.

The case raises questions about the intentions of Prime Minister Abbas's Fatah government in the West Bank. Mr. Sa'ad, a former member of the Palestinian Authority's national security forces, is accused of providing the Israel Defense Forces with the whereabouts of four accused Palestinian terrorists Mr. Abbas's regime was unwilling to hand over to the Israelis. In a court in Hebron he was convicted of being a collaborator. But cooperation between Israel and the Palestinian Authority on counterterrorism is a precondition under agreements for the relinquishment of land for a Palestinian Arab state. What's more, the sentence against Mr. Sa'ad was meted out by a judge from Fatah, which is Mr. Abbas's Palestinian faction and the one that Ms. Rice hopes her diplomacy will strengthen against Hamas, the Iranian-backed terrorists who now control Gaza.

Meanwhile, oblivious to the reality that is going on around her, Rice continues to tout Abbas.

Secretary Rice in Ramallah yesterday praised Mr. Abbas, and particularly his leadership of the security services. "It takes some time to deal with the effects of the Intifada, but a lot of it has to do with responsible actions by the Palestinian government and the Palestinian Authority which are really now in place," she said. "And because of that, I think you are going to see improvements on the West Bank."

I. Can't. Wait.

Read the whole thing.

UPDATE: From Muslims Against Sharia

Muslims Against Sharia condemn, in strongest possible terms, death sentence for Imad Sa'ad, which shows the true nature of the Palestinian Authority. If Mahmoud Abbas and the P.A. were serious about combating terrorism, they would not be sentencing their security officers to death for counter-terrorism efforts.

Muslims Against Sharia call on the American government to cease all aid to the Palestinian Authority if Mr. Sa'ad's sentence is carried out. Imad Sa'ad is a true hero of the Arab people and the American government should demand his immediate release.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

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