By Qais Abu Samra

RAMALLAH

A Palestinian court has jailed a man for life for easing a land sale to Jewish settlers in the occupied city of East Jerusalem, according to the Supreme Judicial Council on Monday.

The council did not identify the man, giving only his initials I. A.

Sources, however, identified the convict as Issam Aqel, a resident of Jerusalem, who holds U.S. citizenship.

Last month, the official Wafa news agency said the Palestinian Authority and intelligence service were facing pressure to release a man accused of “leaking real estate to settlers in Jerusalem”.

On Nov. 28, U.S. ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, called for Aqel’s release, saying he was an American citizen.

The Palestinian leadership suspended contact with the U.S. administration late last year after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a controversial decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.