Terrorist who killed Israeli in West Bank supermarket gets 35 years in prison

The Judea Military Court sentences one of the two Palestinian terrorists who killed an Israeli man at a West Bank supermarket almost three years ago to 35 years in prison.

The terrorist, who cannot be named in media reports since he is a minor, is also fined NIS 1.25 million ($330,000) and sentenced to a three-year suspended sentence, the Walla news site reports.

The February 2016 terror attack was committed by two Palestinians, aged 15 and 14 at the time, who spent 20 minutes searching for a target inside a supermarket at the Sha’ar Binyamin industrial zone. They then stabbed and wounded a customer, and stabbed to death off-duty soldier Tuvia Yanai Weissman, 21, who tried to stop them. They were then shot by a civilian and arrested.

The victim’s father, Avraham Weissman, says the family is “disappointed” by the decision, saying he deserves “at least a life sentence.”

“This terrorist not only stabbed the victim, he also initiated the attack, which is very serious,” he says. “I think he doesn’t deserve any less than what my son received, which was [a punishment that lasts] forever. A more stringent punishment would’ve contributed to deterrence.”

The right-wing Honenu legal aid group also slams the sentence, saying the teenager should’ve been jailed for life and that “every time a terrorist gets a reduced punishment it harms deterrence and strengthens terror.”