Palestinian human rights activist and charity worker Aya Khatib was sentenced to four years in prison by an Israeli court on Tuesday, August 15. Khatib was convicted on charges of aiding and providing information to Palestinian resistance group Hamas, which controls Gaza, with the aim of harming state security. She was additionally accused of raising money for the families of Hamas members and was charged with “recruiting funds to support terrorism and passing them to Hamas.”
Khatib was first arrested on these charges in 2020 and later subjected to brutal interrogation by Israeli intelligence officers. An indictment against her was subsequently filed in the Haifa district court, following which she spent one year and four months in the Damon prison in Israel. She was later transferred to house arrest for the remainder of her trial.
Responding to her sentencing, Khatib said, “They [Israeli courts] will not be able to defeat or break us, they will not be able to change an ounce of our principles. I hope that people will not be afraid and refrain from doing good deeds because of what is happening.” She categorically denied the accusations leveled against her and insisted that she was only helping the Palestinian people who are suffering immensely under the crippling blockade of Gaza since 2007.
Khatib’s lawyer Mahmoud Hassan termed the sentence “unjust” and said that the activist will file an appeal to overturn the verdict in higher courts. He noted that Khatib was convicted on the basis of evidence that had been kept secret and not even shared with the defense team.
Khatib has received widespread support from Palestinian civil society, human rights groups and activists regarding her politically motivated trial and conviction. Numerous campaigns have called on the Israeli authorities to immediately and unconditionally release the persecuted activist.
