A Palestinian man convicted last year of planting a bomb on a bus in Tel Aviv during Israel’s Operation Pillar of Defense was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Monday.
Muhammad Mafarji, 18 years old at the time of the attack in 2012, was found guilty last December of attempted murder and aiding the enemy during wartime. Twenty-eight people were injured when the bus exploded near Israeli military headquarters in the center of Tel Aviv.
His lawyer had reached a plea bargain with the prosecution, under which the state would not seek a sentence of more than 25 years in prison for the act.
Mafarji confessed to the Shin Bet security service that he placed an explosive device on bus No. 142 on November 21, 2012. The bomb detonated near the Israeli military’s headquarters in the center of Tel Aviv, injuring 28 people.
He said he did this in order to assist Hamas in the Gaza Strip and avenge the death of Hamas military commander Ahmed Jabari, who was killed in a drone strike that marked the onset of the Israeli campaign to curb rocket fire from Gaza.
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition
by email and never miss our top stories
By signing up, you agree to the
terms
The bombing took place at the tail end of the military operation.
Lazar Berman contributed to this report.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
