Exiled Abbas rival Dahlan sentenced to 3 years for corruption

14 December 2016, 6:39 pm

Edit

An official says a Palestinian court has sentenced a political foe of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to three years in prison for allegedly embezzling $16 million as a cabinet minister.

Former Fatah strongman Mohammad Dahlan has lived in exile since falling out with Abbas in 2010. He was sentenced in absentia.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, right, and Mohammad Dahlan, left, leave a news conference in Egypt, in February 2007. (AP/Amr Nabil)

Since the rift, Abbas has taken a series of steps to block Dahlan’s possible return to a West Bank leadership position. Egypt and other Arab states all want Abbas to allow Dahlan to return.

The ruling comes after a constitutional court upheld Abbas’ right to strip Dahlan and four of his allies of their parliamentary immunity.

— AP