Life sentence for terrorist who killed Amit Ben Yigal hy"d

A military court sentenced Nad'mi Abu-Bakr to life imprisonment and ordered him to pay over NIS 4 million in compensation on Thursday for the murder of Staff Sergeant Amit Ben Yigal hy"d in May 2020. The sentencing comes six and a half years after the attack, which occurred during an IDF operation in the village of Ya'bad in the Shomron.

Abu-Bakr was convicted in May of this year of causing death with intent, the equivalent of murder in the Judea and Samaria region, and obstruction of justice. With the legal proceedings now concluded, the full sentence has been imposed.

According to the military prosecution's indictment, the terrorist threw a concrete block weighing between nine and eleven kilograms from a rooftop on May 12, 2020, targeting IDF soldiers operating in the area during an arrest operation. The heavy block struck Staff Sergeant Amit Ben Yigal hy"d and killed him instantly.

After carrying out the attack, Abu-Bakr fled from the roof to his apartment and pretended to be asleep in an attempt to evade security forces. Later, after IDF troops left the area, he returned to the scene, collected the fragments of the block, and threw them into vegetation along the path to conceal evidence and obstruct the investigation.

During the legal proceedings, an extraordinary dispute arose. The terrorist's defense attorneys requested to open Amit Ben Yigal's grave, claiming that examining the helmet buried with him, soaked in his blood, might lead to their client's acquittal. The defense argued that "we are dealing with a murder case, and we must physically examine the helmet" to prove that such damage could not result from half a block.

The military prosecution stated it would continue to pursue full justice against anyone who harms state security and IDF soldiers, and that the army continues to support the bereaved family.

Baruch Ben Yigal, Amit's father hy"d, remarried about three years ago after having been divorced in the years following his son's death. A year ago, another son was born to him, and at the bris he said: "For me, this is closing a circle to arrive here. I yearned for the moment when I would tell Amit that he has a brother, and here we have reached this special moment."

Following the attack, a dispute erupted over the demolition of the terrorist's home. The High Court (Bagatz) initially ruled that only the room where the terrorist lived should be sealed, not the entire apartment, citing concern for "harm to the innocent." The state filed a request for further hearing, but ultimately only the room was sealed.

Amit Ben Yigal hy"d, an only child, was a fighter in the Golani reconnaissance unit. His father Baruch received a dollar for blessing from the Lubavitcher Rebbe zt"l in 1989, shortly after losing his own father. About a decade ago, he took his son Amit to pray at the Rebbe's gravesite for his bar mitzvah. After Amit's death, the bereaved father returned to the Rebbe's gravesite and prayed there wrapped in the flag of the Golani unit.