Israel sentences Spanish woman for aiding banned group

By JOSEF FEDERMAN
Associated Press

JERUSALEM (AP) — An Israeli military court has handed down a reduced sentence to a Spanish woman who admitted to raising funds for a West Bank charity that were diverted to the banned Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Juana Ruiz Sánchez was sentenced Wednesday to 13 months in prison and ordered to pay a fine of 50,000 shekels, or roughly $16,000. With credit for time already served, she could be released in the coming weeks. Israel has tried to seize on the conviction as proof that the PFLP raises money from unwitting foreign donors under the guise of humanitarian work. But Ruiz said she was unaware of any connection to the group. Her lawyer called the case “political.”