JERUSALEM, March 28, 2011 (WAFA) - Jerusalem District Court Monday sentenced a Jewish settler to 18 months in prison and one year on probation after he was convicted of kidnapping and assaulting a 15 years old Palestinian boy, according to the Israeli human rights organization Yesh Din.

The court also ordered the defendant to pay a fine of 50,000 Israeli shekels in compensation to the victim.

The boy, from the West Bank village of Kusra, was kidnapped by two settlers near the Esh Kodesh outpost. The two offenders battered him, and left him naked, wounded, and bound in an open field.

Yesh Din assisted the victim from the day of the incident, said the release, and helped him and his family file a complaint with the Israeli police.

Following an investigation, police apprehended one of the suspects - a resident of the settlement of Shilo. He was indicted, and his trial opened in February 2009.

Last November, the Shilo settler was convicted with battery under aggravated circumstances and kidnapping for the purpose of causing grave bodily injury. He was also convicted of killing a lamb.

Yesh Din, which monitors offenses carried out by Israelis against Palestinians and their property, points out that this is a relatively rare case where investigators and prosecutors both succeeded to convict an offender of grave offenses.

According to Yesh Din data, about 90% of complaints filed by Palestinians against Israeli citizens who harm them and their property end without any indictments.

The victim's father welcomed the sentence.

M.A.