Jerusalem light rail stabber sentenced to 18 years
Subhi Abu Khalifa, 19, seriously injured yeshiva student in attack near capital’s police HQ in October 2015
Sue Surkes is The Times of Israel's environment reporter
Subhi Abu Khalifa, 19, was sentenced Monday to 18 years behind bars for stabbing and wounding two people at a light rail station in October 2015, at the height of a wave of Palestinian attacks.
One of the victims, a 25-year-old yeshiva student, was seriously injured and taken to a hospital with a knife still buried in his neck.
A second Israeli, apparently a light rail security guard, was very lightly hurt after wrestling with the attacker in an attempt to prevent him from fleeing the scene.
Abu Khalifa, from the capital’s Shuafat neighborhood, was convicted in May of attempted murder, causing serious injury, and carrying a knife. Defense and prosecution attorneys agreed to ask for an 18-year prison term.
The terror attack took place just after noon in October 2015 at the light rail stop near the Israel Police’s national headquarters close to Ammunition Hill in northern Jerusalem.
After the stabbing, the attacker reportedly attempted but failed to steal a gun from a light rail security guard. After an altercation with the guard, the attacker fled the scene, but was pursued and caught by police motorcyclists.
The Times of Israel Community.