Palestinian man convicted in murder of Evyatar Borovsky

JTA — An Israeli military court convicted a West Bank Palestinian man for the April murder of Evyatar Borowsky, a West Bank father of five.

The Samaria Military Court on Sunday convicted Salam Zagal of Tulkarem on Sunday for the killing of Borowsky of the Itamar settlement.

Zagal stabbed Borowsky, 31, to death as Borowsky waited at a bus stop at the Tapuach Junction. Border Police officers shot Zagal at the scene of the attack.

Zagal had been released eight months earlier from an Israeli jail after serving three years for rock throwing.

Borowsky’s widow, Sophia, called for the death penalty following the conviction.

“The proper sentence for a heinous murderer is death,” she said. “That is the only proper sentence for a deed such as this.”

The widow continued, “I wish this base murderer a death of torment, but it is really useless to put him in jail, when one takes into account that he will be released in one (prisoner) swap or another, and will use his time there for academic studies free of charge, and the high standard of living that the state of Israel gives the murderers of its citizens.”

Zagal’s brother is jailed in the Palestinian Authority for collaborating with Israel. According to reports, it is believed that Zagal set out to kill a Jewish settler in order to restore his family’s honor.

Borowsky’s name has been included in several “price tag” attacks against Palestinian and Christian sites.