A military court in Nablus ruled today that it was competent to try four Arabs for the murder of six Israeli Jews and the wounding of 16 others in an ambush of worshipers on their way home from synagogue in Hebron in May 1980.
The defense had claimed the court had no right to try them as the four were “prisoners of war.” The judges refused to allow a delay until the defense appeals to the Supreme Court, but noted the defense lawyers could still do so.
The four Arabs refuse to cooperate with the court. When they were asked today whether they understood the charges against them, which carry a death sentence, they refused to reply, laughing loudly instead and shouting Palestine Liberation Organization slogans.
Their lawyers said they had been instructed by their clients not to question prosecution witnesses on the grounds that a military court was not competent to try prisoners of war. (By Hugh Orgel)
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