Honenu Attorney Chayim Bleicher; Photo credit: Honenu
Tuesday, October 20, 2020, 15:57 On Monday, October 19, the Military Court in Yehuda accepted a plea bargain between the Military Advocate General and one of three terrorists who participated in a ramming attack approximately 18 months ago, near Kafr Ni’ma, south of the Do’ar Junction in Binyamin. Two of the terrorists were killed when IDF soldiers opened fire during the attack, and the third, a minor, was detained and sentenced to four year’s imprisonment. The terrorists seriously injured an IDF officer and lightly injured a border policeman.
The bill of indictment, according to which the terrorist was convicted, states that prior to the ramming attack the terrorists had on two separate occasions hurled Molotov cocktails at an army checkpoint near Route 443. On the day of the attack the terrorists, wearing masks and Hamas headbands, drove to the checkpoint in order to throw Molotov cocktails and set tires on fires at the site. When they reached the checkpoint they threw seven Molotov cocktails at the checkpoint and set tires on fire. As the checkpoint was ablaze, they fled the scene in their vehicle towards Ramallah. When they reached the area of Kafr Ni’ma they noticed army vehicles and security forces. Then they accelerated towards the soldiers, injuring the officer and the border policeman.
The officer, who required a long rehabilitation after the attack, came accompanied by Honenu Attorney Chayim Bleicher to testify at the Military Court and to demand that a severe penalty be imposed on the terrorist. The officer arrived at the witness stand in court supported by crutches. He insisted on standing as he testified opposite the terrorist. The Military Court in Yehuda Judge Colonel Menachem Lieberman rejected the opposition of the officer and handed down to the terrorist a sentence of 48 month’s imprisonment, a suspended sentence, and imposed payment of compensation.
Honenu Attorney Chayim Bleicher, who is assisting the injured officer with realizing his rights as a victim of terror: “The terrorist was a member of a terrorist cell and he must bear full responsibility for all of the terror acts of the cell and their consequences. In the war on terror full responsibility must be placed on the participants and they must be severely penalized and thus also others with similar thoughts will be deterred. We are disappointed with the plea bargain and the results of the trial. We expect a change in the approach of the legal system with regard to judging terrorists.”
In May 2020, Honenu launched a campaign to put a stop to rock and Molotov cocktail throwing attacks. The organization calls on on everyone who has experienced an attack to contact their headquarters so that the terrorists can be brought to trial. For a selection of cases in which Honenu Attorneys have represented victims of rock or Molotov cocktail attacks, please see here.