Free Republic

MONTREAL -- After serving nearly four years in an Israeli prison for crimes he says he didn’t commit, Jamal Akkal landed on Canadian soil Friday morning.The 27-year-old Canadian citizen, who was born in Gaza but lived in Windsor, Ont., pleaded guilty in 2004 to receiving paramilitary training and conspiracy to commit manslaughter, but maintains his innocence. He says his confession was attained under duress.Akkal was released to family members in Gaza on Wednesday. His Royal Jordanian flight from Amman, Jordan landed at Pierre Elliott Trudeau airport at 7:30 a.m. Friday, but he did not exit to the arrivals area.Several passengers,...

OTTAWA - Israel's embassy in Canada said on Friday that a Canadian had confessed to planning attacks in North America on behalf of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, prompting an angry Ottawa to say it would reprimand the Israeli ambassador. Canadian officials said they were also unhappy with the way Israel had responded to complaints about how 23-year-old Palestinian-born Jamal Akkal was being interrogated and were unaware of any confession he might have made. Israeli Ambassador Haim Divon told reporters that Akkal confessed at a court hearing on Thursday that he been recruited by Hamas "to carry out terrorist attacks"...