A military court in Judea convicted Ibrahim Hamed, former head of the Hamas military wing in the West Bank, of 46 murders on Wednesday. Hamed's sentencing is scheduled for next week. Hamed, 47, was arrested in 2006 on charges of planning, organizing, aiding and executing terrorist attacks, including an attack at Zion Square in Jerusalem in December 2001, a bombing at the Moment Cafe in Jerusalem in March 2002, an attack at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem in July 2002 and an attack at the Hillel Cafe in Jerusalem in September 2003. A total of 46 people were killed in the attacks and many others were wounded. Hamed was also convicted of attempting to carry out several attacks, including blowing up the Pi Glilot fuel terminal near Jerusalem and railroad tracks. The court rejected claims by the defense that testimonies were not taken in accordance with the law. Prosecutors based their case on testimonies from Abdullah Barghouti who was sentenced in 2004 to 67 consecutive life terms for masterminding the murders of Israelis and Muhammad Arman, a former Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades commander sentenced to 37 consecutive life terms. Both men said that Hamed carried out the attacks he was charged with. After Hamed refused to enter a plea, saying he did not recognize the court's authority, prosecutors asked the court to sentence him to 56 consecutive life terms. Hamed's attorney, Saleh Mahamid, said on Wednesday that there was not enough evidence to convict his client beyond a reasonable doubt. "There is no basis for the allegations against him," Mahamid said. Hamed was one of the Palestinian prisoners considered for release in the deal between Israel and Hamas to free abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit, which was completed in December 2011. Israel, however, refused to include Hamed in the deal due to the fact that he was released from a Palestinian Authority prison in 2001 and proceeded to plan and execute a string of deadly attacks against Israelis.
