Palestinian who killed Sgt. Elhai Teharlev gets two life terms

A military court sentenced 23-year-old Malek Ahmed Mousa Hamed of the Palestinian town of Silwad to two life sentences for the murder in April of IDF soldier Sgt. Elhai Teharlev.

Hamed was convicted of Teharlev’s murder, three counts of attempted murder, one count of belonging to an illegal organization — the Hamas terror group — and another count of providing services for such an organization.

The military court at the Ofer base outside Ramallah also sentenced Hamed to pay NIS 280,000 ($79,500) in reparations to his victims and their families.

Teharlev, 20, was killed in a car-ramming attack outside the West Bank settlement of Ofra on April 6. He and another soldier, who sustained light injuries, were guarding a bus stop on Route 60.

The car struck the soldiers as they stood in an opening between the bollards protecting the bus stop and the concrete barrier protecting the rest of the sidewalk. The attacker accelerated at the soldiers from across the street to maximize the speed of impact, an army spokesman said at the time.

The Palestinian driver of the car was captured by the IDF later that day and was identified as Hamed.

He had driven back and forth along the road looking for soldiers to target, military officials said. He had previously served four months in jail for attempting an attack at the settlement of Adam last year. His was the ninth attack in the past two years to be carried out by residents of Silwad.

According to Hadashot news, formerly Channel 2, the attack that killed Teharlev was Hamed’s third attempt. He decided to abort both previous attempts, including a planned stabbing of an IDF soldier and a planned car-ramming of soldiers and civilians, when he encountered security forces at the sites.