Passover bombers jailed for life

Passover bombers jailed for life

The bomber killed mainly elderly diners

An Israeli military court has sentenced four Palestinians to life imprisonment over a suicide bombing that killed 29 people during last year's Passover holiday.

The four had been convicted of helping Abdel Basset Odeh to bomb the Park Hotel in the northern seaside resort of Netanya.

The bombing was single deadliest attack of the Palestinian uprising, which began in September, 2000.

The four men gave the suicide bomber an explosives belt, and also hid him and videotaped him before he carried out the attack.

They were handed 29 life sentences each, plus another 20 each for planning to carry out another suicide attack.

The sentences against Fathi Khatib, Nasser Watimi, Mohammed Schreim and Muammar al-Sheikh, all from the West Bank, were handed down two days before this year's Passover holiday.

'Death penalty merited'

Odeh, from Tulkarm, and the other four were all members of the Islamic militant group Hamas.

The four defendants and bomber Odeh were members of Hamas

Odeh blew himself up in the hotel's dining room as a group of mainly elderly people attended a festival meal.

In passing sentence, some of the judges said this was a case that merited the death penalty, but it was not invoked.

The four defendants blamed the Israeli "occupation" for their actions.

One said at the outset that he did not recognise the authority of the military court.

The man convicted of driving the bomber to Netanya said he was avenging the deaths of innocent Palestinian women and children.

The Netanya bombing sparked a six-week Israeli military offensive in the West Bank.

Troops rounded up suspected militants and besieged Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's headquarters.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office said on Monday that Israel had now tracked down all those involved in the Netanya attack.

Five had been arrested and three had been killed.