Last month, NY State Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn) warned that Isaam Akel, an American citizen, was undergoing torture in a Palestinian prison for allegedly selling properties to Israeli Jews. Today, a Palestinian Authority court in Ramallah sentenced this American citizen to life in prison with hard labor. Hikind is calling on the Trump administration to intervene immediately.

“I know that President Trump is aware of the situation because I personally handed him a letter from Akel’s wife and discussed the dire situation with him when I was at the White House,” said Hikind. “I also met with Ambassador David Friedman about the issue. This is an outrage that the United States cannot tolerate: An American citizen illegally kidnapped from Israel, tortured and now sentenced to life in prison for allegedly selling property to Jews!”

Last month, Assemblyman Hikind met with Akel’s wife to discuss the plight of her 53-year-old husband, an Arab-American resident of Jerusalem. At that time, Hikind called upon the UN and human rights groups to also demand the release, but no such demand followed.

“This is not Hamas, the recognized terror organization, that has directed this act against an Arab American,” said Hikind. “This is the Palestinian Authority—the so-called moderates—the official government of the Palestinians who have perpetrated this crime against a U.S. citizen.

“Imagine the outcry if Israel jailed a Jew for allegedly selling land to an Arab. Would human rights groups stand silent if this man was persecuted for selling land to a Black family or an Asian family? I’m calling on those who care about human rights—those groups who advocate for everyone else—to speak out about this heinous violation of human rights against an Arab-American who committed no crime! All of us must unite to free this innocent man.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)