Palestinian sentenced to 22.5 years for supermarket attack
Verdict reached after Yatta resident Ismail Abu Aram confessed to 2017 terror stabbing in which Yavneh store manager was critically injured
A Palestinian terrorist who was convicted of attempted murder after confessing to stabbing and critically injuring an Israeli man was sentenced Tuesday to spend 22.5 years in prison.
The Lod District Court handed down the sentence to Ismail Ibrahim Ismail Abu Aram from the West Bank town of Yatta near Hebron.
Abu Aram, who was 19 at the time of the August 2, 2017 attack, seriously injured Niv Nehemiah, a deputy manager at the “Super Deal” supermarket during the stabbing in the southern city of Yavneh.
Nehemiah, who indicated he wanted the maximum sentence of 25 years, said after the sentencing “I expected more from the court. We will look at the court decision and respond accordingly,” Hadashot news television reported.
In March Abu Aram was convicted of attempted murder for nationalistic reasons after he admitted in court to all of the charges against him.
At the time the court ruled that, on the basis of his confession, “the defendant was convicted of attempted murder in circumstances of terror.”
Nehemiah was stocking shelves when Abu Aram took out a knife and stabbed him in the upper body. Though injured, Nehemiah fought off the terrorist and ran, blocking the aisle after him with a handcart, his assailant hot in pursuit.
He suffered multiple stab wounds to the chest, neck and head, according to medical officials.
After the stabbing, Abu Aram fled the scene and was tackled by civilians. He was later arrested by security forces.
According to the Shin Bet security service, Abu Aram entered Israel illegally, without a required permit.
