Israeli Arab sentenced to 5 years for helping Hamas

Khaled Ajbariya passed information, funds to his brother-in-law, a known Hamas terrorist, over the course of several years.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN
checkpoint 311 (photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem)
checkpoint 311
(photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem)
A resident of Umm el- Fahm was sentenced to five years in prison on Wednesday and ordered to pay an NIS 20,000 fine after confessing to providing assistance to Hamas that could have resulted in the murder of Israelis.
Khaled Ajbariya, who previously served a six-year prison sentence for similar offenses, was convicted by the Haifa District Court under a plea bargain with the prosecution of helping the enemy during a time of war, transferring information to the enemy, dealing in terrorism-related property, and communicating with a foreign agent.
Ajbariya met with his brother-in-law, a Hamas operative dubbed “Nabil,” in Saudi Arabia on several occasions, traveling for Haj during Ramadan.
He received instructions and a map indicating the location of an arms cache hidden near Tzipori, 4 km.
from Nazareth, the indictment said.
Nabil paid Ajbariya $5,000 to ensure that the weapons were still there, according to prosecutors, and was told to pick up additional money that were hidden in the arms cache.
Ajbariya returned to Israel and tried in vain to locate the cache. He reported his failure to his handler, and was instructed to enlist the support of Nabil’s brother, Mazen Mahzuma, who is currently standing trial.