File Photo: A masked Palestinian gunman from Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, a military wing of Hamas, stands guard next to a makeshift Israeli Armored Personnel Carrier, during a rally marking the first anniversary of the Israeli war on Gaza, in central Gaza City, Wednesday, July 8, 2015 (Photo: AP)
An Israeli court sentenced a Palestinian engineer to 21 years in jail Tuesday for helping the Islamist movement Hamas to improve the range of rockets used against Israel.
Dirar Abu Sisi went missing in Ukraine in February 2011, and Israel said a month later that he was in its custody and would be put on trial.
A court in the southern city of Beersheba convicted Abu Sisi of several "crimes against the security of the state", an official said.
In particular, he was said to have helped improve the range of the home-made Qassam rockets that the armed wing of the Islamist movement Hamas has fired at Israel from the neighbouring Gaza Strip over the years.
The rockets, produced in clandestine workshops that are often targeted by Israeli air strikes, can travel between 10 and 20 kilometres (six and 12 miles).
Israel's military assault on Gaza in July and August 2014 has led to the death of more than 2,140 Palestinians. On the Israeli side, 73 people were killed, yet mostly soldiers.
*This story was edited by Ahram Online.
Short link: