Israel court sentences Palestinian protest leader

An Israeli military court has sentenced a prominent Palestinian protest leader to 13 months in jail for urging youths to throw rocks at Israeli soldiers.

But the court said Bassem al-Tamimi, 45, will be a free man Tuesday, because he already spent that period of time in jail while awaiting trial. He was conditionally released in April to care for his ailing mother.

The activist led weekly marches in his West Bank village of Nabi Saleh to protest Jewish settlers seizing a nearby well for their own use. He was convicted mostly on the basis of a confession given by a 15-year-old who was interrogated without a lawyer.

The case against him sparked European Union criticism of Israel's policy of imprisoning Palestinian protest leaders.