Security forces at the scene of the attack; Photo credit: Sraya Diamant/Flash90
Thursday, June 10, 2021, 15:49 The Ofer Military Court has indicted Muntasir Shalabi, the terrorist who murdered Yehuda Guetta, Hy”d, at Tapuah Junction on Sunday, May 2. Among the charges are intentional homicide, (the equivalent of murder in a military court), three counts of attempted intentional homicide, unlawful use of a weapon and disruption of legal proceedings, for fleeing the security forces.
One week previously, on behalf of HaMoked: Center for the Defence of the Individual, Attorney Lea Tsemel filed a petition with the High Court of Justice opposing the demolition of the terrorist’s house. The High Court of Justice issued an interim injunction delaying the demolition until a hearing on the petition is held.
The bill of indictment details how approximately one month prior to the attack, Shalabi started to plan how he would murder Jewish soldiers or citizens. Shalabi wrote a will and informed his wife of its existence. The terrorist decided that Tapuah Junction was the most suitable location to carry out the attack due to the presence of many civilians and soldiers at the site. He trained with a pistol that was in his possession and planned to carry out the attack on Friday, April 30. Since he did not feel well that day, he postponed the attack to Saturday, and later to Sunday.
On the afternoon of Sunday, May 2, according to the bill of indictment, the terrorist loaded the magazine of his pistol with live bullets and took dozens more bullets with him. Shalabi loaded the full magazine into his pistol and cocked it so that it would be ready to fire. He entered his car and hid the pistol under a prayer rug on the front passenger seat. At approximately 18:00, the terrorist reached Tapuah Junction. He stopped his car near the bus stop, took his cocked pistol, called out “Allah akbar”, and fired many bullets through his open car window at close range towards the citizens at the bus stop. The terrorist stopped shooting only after the barrel of his pistol exploded and the pistol ceased functioning.
Soldiers at the intersection opened fire on Shalabi and injured him, but he succeeded in escaping. For four days, Shalabi hid in several locations in the town of Aqraba, where he informed his accessories of the attack he had carried out. The terrorist attempted to treat his injuries and to alter his appearance in order to thwart his apprehension by the security forces. Later, the terrorist reached one of his friends, who convinced him that he had no choice other than to give himself up to the security forces. A short time later Shalabi was apprehended by the security forces.
Three students from Yeshivat Itamar were injured in the attack, Yehuda Guetta, Hy”d, Binaya Peretz, and Amichai Hala. Guetta was critically injured by a bullet to his head and succumbed to his injuries four days after the attack. Peretz was seriously injured, put into a medically induced coma and ventilated. He underwent spinal surgery and, as of this posting, is still hospitalized and paralyzed from the neck down. Hala was lightly injured.
The bill of indictment charges the terrorist with intentional homicide, the equivalent of murder in a military court, for the death of Guetta, and three counts of attempted intentional homicide, for the injuries of Peretz and Hala, and the attempt to injure the other civilians and soldiers at the intersection. The terrorist is also charged with unlawful possession and use of a weapon and disruption of legal proceedings for fleeing the security forces.
Honenu Attorney Chayim Bleicher, who is representing the family: “The time has come to serve justice and to hand down the death penalty to the terrorist. This demand is only a small portion of what is necessary to fight the terrorists who sanctify death. Simultaneous to the trial of the terrorist, the abettors and accessories who assisted the terrorist in evading the security forces must stand trial. Severe penalties must be handed down to all of them in order to drain the swamp of terror. In addition, deterrence must be increased with regard to the terrorist’s family and his house. The time has come for every terrorist who harms us to know that he will bring disaster on himself and on his family.”