Honenu Attorney Chayim Bleicher; Photo credit: Honenu
Monday, December 2, 2024, 9:04 The Supreme Court stiffened the sentence handed down to a terrorist who took part in an attack on a Jewish family during Operation Guardian of the Walls (May 2021). The family lost their way and drove into the village of Zalafa in Wadi Ara. The Haifa District Court handed down the original lenient sentence of 18 months, despite a request from the State Attorney’s office for an eight-year sentence. The State Attorney’s office appealed the leniency of the sentence, and the Supreme Court recently increased it to 36 months’ imprisonment. Honenu Attorney Chayim Bleicher is representing the family.
The indictment describes how the terrorist and dozens of additional rioters chased the family’s car while throwing rocks and anything else they could grab at it. One of the rioters rammed his car into the family’s car, destroying the rear bumper. The rioters blocked the family’s car, climbed on the roof, shattered the windshields, and tried to pull the family out of their car. The mother shielded her children from the beating and the rocks with her body. One large rock was thrown directly into her face from point blank range. After a long time, the family were rescued and transported for medical treatment.
Attorney Bleicher commented on the ruling: “The Supreme Court Justices ruled that the Haifa District Court judges erred in handing down a lenient sentence despite the severity of the terrorist’s crimes. The Justices doubled the penalty, which now stands at three years’ imprisonment. They cited in their decision that the original penalty did not adequately penalize the terrorist as is customary in a case of this sort. In their decision, the Justices sided with increasing the penalty in line with what Judge Daniel Fisch had ruled for another terrorist who was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment for his part in the attack. We hope that this ruling will be a milestone in the process of understanding the need for stiffer penalization of terrorists who injure Jews. Harsher penalties for terrorists will increase the security of all Israeli citizens.”