An Israeli military court has sentenced Palestinian prisoner Derar Abu Sissi to 21 years in prison for developing Qassam rockets, Quds Press reported.

Israeli intelligence kidnapped 46-year-old Abu Sissi, the head of the operations department at the Gaza power plant, on 19 February, 2011 during his visit to Ukraine, where the Israeli authorities kept him in solitary confinement at a Ukrainian prison.

The Israeli Central Court in Beersheva accused Abu Sissi of belonging to Hamas and working under its military wing, Al-Qassam Brigades.

It also accused him of being responsible for the development and manufacturing of Qassam rockets, wherein the Israeli military prosecution described him as a “the rocket engineer”.

The Israeli military prosecution accused Abu Sissi of several other charges, including belonging to a “terrorist” organisation, taking part in “terrorist” activities, conspiring to kill Israelis, and other charges that it said he has confessed to.

Since his arrest more than four years ago, Abu Sissi has been kept in solitary confinement, as a result of which he has started to suffer from several diseases and his health has worsened significantly.

(Middle East Monitor)