Jordan's military court has sentenced three Hamas militants to between five and 15 years in jail for conspiring to attack Israeli businessmen, Jordanian intelligence officers and other targets across Jordan.

The three - Ayman Naji al-Daraghmeh, Ahmed Abu Rabee and Ahmed Abu Thiyab - are all Jordanians of Palestinian origin.

They pleaded innocent to all charges, including photographing the Israeli Embassy, the homes of the Israeli ambassador and his staff, and the offices of Jordanian companies dealing with Israeli firms.

Al-Daraghmeh, who received the highest sentence, claimed after his 2006 arrest that he got orders from an unnamed high-level Hamas leader living in Syria.

He told authorities where to find weapons caches. The verdict can be appealed.

Copyright Ha'aretz News