Abducted engineer on missile charges

Israel charged a detained Palestinian engineer with hundreds of counts of attempted murder yesterday, accusing him of developing missiles that Islamist group Hamas fired from Gaza against Israelis.

Dirar Abu Sisi, a director of the Gaza Strip's sole power station, says he was kidnapped during a visit to Ukraine in February and transferred secretly to Israel.

A court in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba handed down a 15-page indictment, revealing allegations at the heart of the mysterious case.

"Abu Sisi was engaged in the development of missiles to be launched by Hamas, including increasing their range and ability to pierce steel so as to penetrate armoured vehicles and thus strike at soldiers," a summary of the indictment said.

Abu Sisi denies wrongdoing and Hamas has said he is not a member of the organisation.