IDF soldier convicted of accidentally killing comrade, will be jailed for 3 years
Pvt. Binyamin Fentaye, who shot Cpl. Baruch Kabarta dead at base near Jerusalem in January, also convicted of obstruction of justice
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleEmanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
A soldier was convicted Monday of reckless homicide for the killing of a comrade on an army base near Jerusalem earlier this year, and will be sentenced to three years in prison as part of a plea deal.
The Israel Defense Forces said the Military Police soldier, named as Pvt. Binyamin Fentaye, entered a room on the Anatot Base on the night of January 2, picked up a gun that wasn’t his, and “carried out various actions” that resulted in a bullet discharging from the rifle, killing Cpl. Baruch Kabarta.
The soldier, who was detained shortly after the deadly incident, was also charged with obstruction of justice after he allegedly tried to dissuade another soldier who was in the room at the time from talking about the shooting.
Following a mediation process between prosecutors and the soldier’s defense team, Fentaye confessed to the charge of reckless homicide, and the sides requested that he be sentenced to three years in prison, the IDF said.
Additionally, the soldier will be handed a suspended sentence and ordered to pay compensation to Kabarta’s family, the latter of which has already been carried out amid the mediation process.
According to the IDF, prosecutors told the military court that the agreed-upon punishment was “more severe” than similar cases of deaths as a result of accidental misfires, and that it “reflects the severity in which it views the case, and is intended to prevent future disasters of this kind.”
The court was slated to officially issue a sentence on August 30.
הותר לפרסום: טוראי בנימין פנטיהו הוא הלוחם מגדוד ארז החשוד בירי ברב"ט ברוך כברתה בשבוע שעבר. סנגוריו בקשו להסיר את צו איסור הפרסום על שמו כחלק מהאחריות שקיבל על מעשיו. פנטיהו שחזר את האירוע בפני חוקרי מצ"ח וטען כי לא שיחק בנשק אלא תפעל מעצור שהוביל לפליטת הכדור@ItayBlumental pic.twitter.com/06OzNDxGu9
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) January 10, 2023
Kabarta was shot dead at the Anatot Base on the outskirts of East Jerusalem at around midnight between January 2 and 3. He was declared dead at the scene following resuscitation efforts.
Kabarta, 19, from the central city of Petah Tikvah, served in the Military Police’s Erez Battalion, in the same company as Sgt. Noa Lazar, who was shot dead in an attack at a checkpoint in East Jerusalem in October 2022.
He was buried at a military cemetery in his hometown.
The head of the IDF’s Personnel Directorate, Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor, ordered the establishment of a panel of experts to investigate the circumstances of the incident. Asor appointed Col. Yaron Simsolo, the commander of the 646th Paratroopers Brigade, to lead the probe.
The panel has not yet published its findings.
The Times of Israel Community.