Last update - 23:51 26/12/2004
Israeli woman Tali Fahima charged with assisting enemy
By Haaretz Service and Itim
Protest poet Shmuel Yerushalmi was investigated Sunday evening by the Shin-Bet security service following the publication of his poem "They shall not break Tali down," in support of pro-Palestinian activist Tali Fahima, charged earlier during the day with several security offenses.
Fahima was charged Sunday in the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court with offenses including assisting the enemy during wartime, passing on information to the enemy and weapons possession.
According to the indictment, Fahima, an Israeli Jewish woman, entered the West Bank city of Jenin roughly seven months ago and joined company with Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade activists.
Fahima allegedly hampered an Israel Defense Forces operation in the area, the aim of which was to arrest suspected militants.
During the operation the IDF lost extremely sensitive material, which eventually found its way to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade. Fahima is accused of translating the documents for the wanted militants, allowing them to hide and evade capture at a later stage of the IDF operation.
The maximum possible sentence that Fahima may receive if she is convicted is life imprisonment.
Fahima has been in custody for the past four and a half months, during which time the Shin Bet internal security service has been investigating her ties to Zacharia Zubeideh, the head of Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade in Jenin.
The IDF assassinated Zubeideh's deputy on Friday.