By Xinhua,
Gaza : A Hamas military court sentenced a group of Palestinians to different years in prison “for forming illegal organization threatening the general interest,” a statement by deposed Hamas interior ministry said on Monday.
The verdicts on the five Palestinians, who were members of President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah movement, varied between eight months and three years.
Nasser Muhana, one of the defendants, received a two-year sentence because he “formed a group comprising the rest of the accused persons to work against the Palestinian government.”
The alleged organization was formed in July, one month after Hamas routed pro-Abbas forces and took over the Gaza Strip.
The five men who were found guilty were part of a wider group appeared in video recordings released by Hamas in February. Hamas said the group in the footage was plotting to assassinate premier Ismail Haneya who was sacked by Abbas after the Gaza takeover.
The group was being supplied with hand grenades, mortar shells, sonic bombs and RPG shells “to be used against the government, its employees and supporters,” said the Hamas interior ministry statement.
The head of the pro-Abbas General Intelligence Service, Tawfiq al-Tirawi, provided financial coverage for the group, the statement added.
Ihab al-Ghussein, spokesman for the Hamas interior ministry, said “keeping on such trials is important to deter anyone who may think of restoring anarchy and disorder in Gaza Strip.”