Palestinian court convicts four people in connection with Zeevi

APalestinian court in Yasser Arafat’s besieged West Bank compound has found four Palestinians guillty of killing the Israeli Tourism Minister.

A makeshift Palestinian court in Yasser Arafat’s besieged West Bank compound has found four Palestinians guilty of assassinating Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi in Jerusalem last October.

A senior Palestinian official said the four were sentenced to between one and 18 years in jail. He also said Mr Arafat had approved the sentences.

Israel had refused to lift its month-old siege on Mr Arafat’s Ramallah compound because it said the suspects for Zeevi’s assassination were hiding inside.

The Israeli Government had demanded that the men face trial, but it is unclear if it will consider today’s proceedings as sufficient.