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)