Palestinian terrorist sentenced to life in prison for deadly shooting attack in 2018

An Israeli military court hands down a life sentence plus 26 years to a member of a Palestinian terror cell that carried out a deadly shooting attack in the West Bank in January 2018.

Ahmed Kunba, a resident of the northern West Bank city of Jenin, was part of the group that opened fire and killed 35-year-old Raziel Shevach near the outpost of Havat Gilad.

On January 9, 2018, the group of gunmen opened fire and killed Shevach, a father of six, on a highway near the then-illegal outpost of Havat Gilad. The terrorists fled the scene, and Israeli security forces launched a manhunt for them over the following weeks.

Kunba was convicted in July of intentionally causing the death of Shevach. The charge is equivalent to murder in the West Bank military court.

Raziel Shevach, who was killed in a terror attack in the northern West Bank on January 9, 2023. (Courtesy: Yeshivat Roeh Yisrael)

He was additionally convicted of a number of other security-related offenses, as well as plotting and carrying out a number of other attacks along with the leader of the cell, Ahmad Nassar Jarrar, who was killed by Israeli troops less than a month after the attack.

In addition to the life sentence, Kunba is also ordered to pay a total of NIS 1.5 million ($394,000) to Shevach’s family.