Jail time delayed for alleged Arab rapist

The jail sentence of a Palestinian man convicted of rape by deception has been delayed.

Israel’s Supreme Court on Tuesday also released Saber Kushour, 30, from house arrest.

Kushour appealed his conviction and 18-month jail sentence to the Supreme Court last week.

His conviction and sentencing has made international headlines, and the Israeli legal system has been accused of racism. Both were noted in the appeal by Kushour’s defense.

Kushour, a married father of two from eastern Jerusalem, does not deny that he had a one-time sexual encounter with a Jewish woman, who was identified as Maya, but says he did not misrepresent himself as being Jewish in order to sleep with her.

The two met in downtown Jerusalem in 2008 and Kushour introduced himself as a Jewish bachelor seeking a serious relationship, the indictment said, according to media reports. The couple then went to a nearby building and had consensual sexual intercourse; Kashur then left.

The woman filed a complaint after realizing that Kashur was not Jewish. The court ruled that the consent for sex was obtained under false pretenses.

Easing house arrest conditions is standard procedure during an appeal.