The Haifa District Court sentenced two terrorists to 4 and 7 years in prison for participating in a lynching of a Jewish family's vehicle during Operation Guardian of the Walls in a village near Wadi Ara. In addition, the terrorists will pay the family compensation in the amount of 40,000 NIS.
The terrorists were convicted of offenses of throwing stones at vehicles and intentionally damaging a vehicle out of racial motives. The prison sentences imposed on the terrorists were handed down despite the fact that they were not convicted of terrorism offenses like other terrorists who participated in the lynching. Two additional terrorists who participated in the lynching were sentenced to 7 and 18 months in prison. The family is represented by attorney Chaim Bleicher from the Honenu organization.
They climbed onto the roof of the vehicle, smashed the windows, threw stones.
According to the indictment filed against the terrorists, the Jewish family took a wrong turn and entered the village, where they were attacked by dozens of terrorists with stones. The rioters managed to block the family's vehicle, climbed onto its roof, smashed its windows, and tried to pull the family members out of the car. The mother shielded her children with her body while absorbing blows and stones, including a huge rock thrown at her face from point-blank range, which hit her. Only after a long time did the family members escape the lynching and were transferred for medical treatment.
Attorney Bleicher stated: "Although those terrorists were not convicted of terrorism offenses, the court deemed it appropriate to impose a significant prison sentence on them. This is an important sentence that sets the right direction on the need to impose significant penalties on anyone involved in an attempt at mass murder against Jews. Unfortunately, other suspects who were involved in the lynching and were convicted of other offenses received a very lenient sentence, and their case is now on the Supreme Court's table. We expect that a message will come from the courts that these heinous acts cannot be tolerated and that the trend of increasing the punishment for the terrorists will continue."
