Palestinian jailed for 16 months for role in attack plot

A 23-year-old Palestinian from East Jerusalem was sentenced to 16 months in jail and seven months suspended on Thursday for his part in a plan earlier this year to carry out a shooting attack on IDF soldiers near a popular shopping mall in Jerusalem.

Abed Abu Snina of the neighborhood of Kafr Aqab was charged with conspiracy to commit a crime, and sentenced under a plea bargain.

According to the charge sheet presented at Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court, Abu Snina met alleged co-conspirator Ihab Sheikh Sobeh in July 2015, while both were serving terms at Ketziot prison in the Negev Desert. The two agreed to make contact following Abu Snina’s release in order to plan a terror attack.

When the two did meet outside prison, Sobeh told Abu Snina that he was planning a shooting attack on security forces near the Malha Mall in Jerusalem. The attack was planned for a Thursday afternoon, when many soldiers travel ahead of weekend furlough. Sobeh said he had weapons and ammunition, and intended to wear an IDF uniform to enable him to blend in with the troops and cause maximum casualties.

Sobeh asked Abu Snina to go to the mall on a Thursday afternoon to film the bus stops, the road and entrances to the mall.

Abu Snina agreed, but was stopped by police before he managed to start filming.

According to the protocols of Thursday’s court hearing, he later told investigators that he had not intended to carry out what he had been asked to do, but was frightened Sobeh would hurt him if he said no.

In sentencing Abu Snina, Justice Hannah Miriam Lomp said she had taken into account the severity of the crime, the potential danger posed, the need for deterrence and the defendant’s previous criminal record. He previously served 10 months at Ketziot for the attempted assault of a police officer and for taking part in disturbances.

But Lomp also noted the defendant’s age and the unfortunate circumstances of his life.

The court heard that Abu Snina, who is unmarried, grew up in the Qalandiya refugee camp outside Jerusalem as the fifth of seven children. He frequently witnessed violence outside the home as well as being subject to severe physical discipline from his father and brother.

He left school at age 13 unable to read or write properly, and was employed for eight years at a Jerusalem bakery before joining his family in the aluminium trade.

Abu Snina was described as a low-functioning person, easily influenced by others, who acted rashly and did not think through the consequences of his actions.