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Former PLO Officer's Son Sentenced For Arson Bid On German Synagogue
DUESSELDORF, Germany, March 7 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The 19-year-old son of a former senior PLO officer was given a suspended prison sentence of 18 months by a German court Wednesday for an attempt to set fire to a synagogue.
Belal Thiab, 19, was convicted of arson and weapons charges for throwing three Molotov cocktails at the Duesseldorf synagogue October 2nd, the eve of celebrations for the 10th anniversary of German reunification. No one was injured, reports the New York Times.
The Jordanian-born Thiab was convicted of criminal damage and arms offenses for the attack, which caused widespread shock in Germany at the time.
The judge said the accused had acted out of "anger" over an Israeli crackdown on young Palestinian demonstrators in the Palestinian territories.
The prosecution requested a custodial sentence of one year and 10 months for Thiab on a charge of attempted arson.
The court heard from the defense and a social worker that he was the son of a former high-ranking Palestinian Liberation Organization officer who had served the organization in Iraq, Egypt and Lebanon, among other countries.
A second defendant charged over the synagogue attack, identified as Khalid Zaouaghi, a 20-year-old Moroccan-born German, will have his case considered separately on April 4th in order to take into account another charge, the court decided Wednesday.
Thiab and Zaouaghia, who were arrested in December, told police their actions were motivated by opposition to Israeli policy relating to Palestinians, the Times adds.
The pair first came to the attention of investigators when they were involved in a violent demonstration outside the old synagogue of Essen over the Middle East situation a few days after the attack, but were only arrested some two months later.
Judge Michael Schoenauer observed that it had "not been proved with absolute certainty" that Thiab intended to burn the synagogue.
But he had admitted they "wanted to make a gesture" against the crackdown by Israeli security forces on Palestinian demonstrators, and the judge said the two must have realized the attack would strike "fear and shock" into Duesseldorf's Jewish community.
Thiab admitted heaving a large block of stone against the glass doors of the synagogue as Zaouaghia hurled three firebombs at the entrance on the night of October 2-3.
However, the flames were spotted by a neighbor who quickly extinguished them; little damage was caused.
In a confession, Thiab said he had acted after seeing a television report about how Israeli troops had shot and killed a young Palestinian boy at the end of September. "I was so filled with anger that I did this," he said.
But before the court Wednesday, the defendant expressed his regret for the act. "I am sorry from the bottom of my heart," he said.
His advocate Martin Lauppe-Assmann said the attack came about after Thiab had been "showered all day long" by news of violence between Israeli forces and Palestinians which had "incited" him.
For the prosecution, Gabriele Hinzen said the accused had shown "considerable criminal energy" in carrying out the attack, which she said was motivated by "hate for Israelis". The attack has also "considerably harmed" Germany's image abroad, she said.
Prosecutors had asked for a 22-month prison sentence for Thiab, saying the attack - part of a wave of hate crimes - tarnished Germany's image, the Times reports.
The arson attempt, coming on top of other acts, prompted the leader of Germany's Jewish community, Paul Spiegel, to voice bitter doubts about the future place of Jews in the country.
Two rightwing extremist youths were jailed in July last year for trying to burn down a synagogue in the eastern city of Erfurt on Adolf Hitler's birthday.
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