Yousouf Abu Jabel Shaquib, a Druze leader from the Majdal Shams village in the Golan Heights was sentenced today to 30 years imprisonment by a military tribunal in Kuneitra. He was found guilty of espionage. The prosecution stated that Shaquib crossed into Syria and reported to the Syrian intelligence on Israeli Army deployment on the Golan Heights, on Israeli lines of defense and even on places hit by Syrian artillery.
The defense counsel claimed that the action of Shaquib was due to the present uncertain situation on the Golan Heights concerning its future. He explained that Druze families are now split between countries which view each other as enemies. Representatives of the Red Cross attended the trial.
Shaquib lost his son in this action of espionage: his son was a messenger going between Syria and the Golan Heights. In one of his excursions to the border line he was encountered by an Israeli patrol and in the exchange of fire he was killed, This fact was mentioned in court as a cause for clemency.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
