PLO thankfully forced to free Arab who sold land to Jews

The pressure of the US and Israel apparently - and fortunately - led to the release of an Arab wrongfully convicted by the PLO's kangaroo courts of selling land to Jews:

The Palestinian Authority is facing sharp criticism from Palestinians following reports that it has released a Palestinian-American man who was recently sentenced to life in prison for his role in the sale of an Arab-owned house in Jerusalem to a Jewish organization.

A Palestinian security source confirmed to the Qatari-owned Al-Araby Al-Jadeed online news website that Isaam Akel, a resident of east Jerusalem who was arrested by the PA security forces in October 2018, was released from prison last week.

According to the report, Akel was handed over to US officials at the headquarters of the PA’s General Intelligence Service on January 15.

The arrest of Akel was first reported by The Jerusalem Post.

“We came under heavy pressure from the Israeli occupation and the US to hand over Akel,” the source said. “There was a serious threat to storm the place where he was being held.”

In late December, a PA court in Ramallah sentenced the 53-year-old Akel to life in prison with hard labor for his role in the real estate transaction with a Jewish organization.

Palestinians first became aware of the release of Akel from a report by Gal Berger, Palestinian affairs Correspondent for the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation KAN. Berger reported last week that Akel was released as part of a secret agreement between between the PA and the US.

He quoted an unnamed US official as saying: “Due to privacy concerns, we are unable to comment on the case.”

The PA has thus far refused to comment on the reports about Akel’s release.

US Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, last month called on the PA to release Akel immediately. “The Palestinian Authority has been holding US citizen Isaam Akel in prison for two months,” he said. “His suspected ‘crime?’ Selling land to a Jew. Akel’s incarceration is antithetical to the values of of the US and to all who advocate the cause of peaceful coexistence. We demand his immediate release.”

Thankfully, that's just what happened, and no doubt, the threat of being invaded was too much for them. And nobody should feel pity they're being attacked by their own community for caving to US demands to release a man who committed no crime. The PLO's "laws" are racist and anti-semitic, not to mention anti-American, and they had no business being savages to the poor man who did a good deed to allow Jews a chance to own property once owned by their own society again. This is exactly why it's a good thing the US closed the PLO's office in Washington DC.