Palestinian man who stabbed two soldiers in 2023 sentenced to 36 years in prison

The Lod District Court sentences Muhammad Awadeh, from the West Bank town of Dura near Hebron, to 36 years in prison, for stabbing two soldiers in April 2023, attempting to kill them.

Awadeh confessed to the crime, the court says, without going through a criminal trial. He did not have a previous criminal record.

He entered Israel on March 31, 2023, without an entry permit, armed with a 30-centimeter (12-inch) knife. After staying at his father’s house in Jaffa for a few days, Awadeh, then 22, boarded a bus on April 4 and got off at the Nir Tzvi junction after spotting soldiers.

“He removed the knife from his jacket and stabbed one of the soldiers in the neck. Immediately thereafter, he stabbed the other soldier in the back. After that, he returned to the first soldier and, as [the soldier] was lying on the ground, he stabbed him many times, in all parts of his body, including his head and chest, until the knife broke,” according to the court.

It adds that Awadeh tried, but failed, to take a soldier’s weapon, and that civilians then subdued the assailant.

“The soldier who testified at the sentencing hearing was an outstanding athlete prior to the attack, and today he has trouble moving, and is dealing with emotional difficulties and suffers from a disability,” the court noted.

“The other soldier, too, testified that he suffers today from pains and physical limitations, in addition to coping with post-traumatic stress disorder, and despite this he continues to serve in reserve duty,” it said.