Sunday, May 1, 2022, 10:40 Following a prolonged legal battle, the Military Court in Yehuda has obligated the abettors to Muntasir Ahmed Ali Shalabi, the terrorist who murdered Yehuda Guetta, Hy”d, in a shooting attack at Tapuah Junction in May 2021, to financially compensate the family. The Guetta family has refused to use the financial compensation and is donating it to organizations that assist Jews and Jewish communities in the Yehuda and Shomron regions. Among the organizations are Honenu, which has assisted the family throughout the trial, and the Nofei Reihan Educational Center for Leadership and Sustainability in the Shomron community of Havat Reihan.
Yehuda’s father, Rabbi Elisha Guetta, spoke about the family’s decision: “[Payment of] compensation was imposed by the Military Advocate General on the abettors to the terrorist who murdered our son, Hy”d, in the framework of a plea bargain. For all intents and purposes, these abettors are terrorists. Unfortunately the court did not listen to our request to completely disregard the plea bargain and in fact approved it. We wanted to express our outrage about the entire process of approving the plea bargain, and therefore we have no intention or desire to use these funds for any [personal] purpose.
“Therefore we intend to transfer the money to Honenu, the legal aid organization that has assisted us in an extraordinary manner. And in the difficult times after the murder of our son Yehuda, Hy”d, when we, the parents, were not emotionally available and were still in great shock over the murder, it was Honenu and Attorney Chayim Bleicher who did holy work and acted for us and prepared us for every hearing and for every demand. This was all while we were in a very difficult situation.”
Additionally, the family contributed some of the compensation funds to Dr. Yehiel and Dorit Shabi’s Nofei Reihan Educational Center for Leadership and Sustainability on their farm, Havat Reihan, in the Shomron. A vineyard has been planted, structures for use by volunteers and a bird-watching lookout have been built with the cooperation of many youth groups, and a spring has been dug in memory of Yehuda Guetta on the farm.
Rabbi Guetta added that with the assistance of Honenu stiffer penalties were achieved: “Honenu does important work for Am Yisrael and protects their honor in the face of murderers. Honenu fills a void in the war on terror that has formed between the walls of the courtroom. Their dedication is invaluable, and we thank them from the bottom of our hearts for their comprehensive assistance.”
Rabbi Elisha Guetta was present at the military court hearings and acted to ensure that the abettors to the murderer of his son would be penalized to the full extent of the law. At one of the hearings, R. Guetta objected to the decision by the judges: “This is a powerful advertisement for the continuation of terror. This is a prize for abettors. This is not how the next act of terror will be prevented.”