West Bank man sentenced to 17 years over 2022 ramming attack that wounded one
Ali Hamid, 33, struck a motorcyclist in Tel Aviv with his car, seriously wounding him, in a revenge attack after his cousin shot at a military post and was killed by troops
A Palestinian man from the West Bank was sentenced on Monday to 17 years in prison, and ordered to pay NIS 30,000 ($8,300) in damages, for carrying out a ramming attack in Tel Aviv in December 2022 that left one person seriously wounded.
The Tel Aviv District Court convicted Ali Hamad, 33, of attempted murder in an act of terror, causing serious injury under aggravating circumstances, entering Israel illegally, and driving without a license, and ordered him to pay the damages to the attack’s victim.
The sentence came as part of a plea bargain, following a criminal mediation process.
On December 8, 2022, Hamad rammed his vehicle into a motorcyclist in Tel Aviv on the city’s Abarbanel Street, seriously wounding him; he then continued to drive, colliding with several other vehicles before he got stuck and was arrested by police.
“I looked up and saw a car accelerating in my direction,” the motorcyclist, Gilad Tanami, told Hebrew media at the time, from his hospital bed, saying he’d been thrown up into the air.
“He continued driving with my motorcycle under the vehicle for about 40 meters and then got stuck on a pole.”
Hamad committed the attack with a car that had been taken off the road by police order due to damage from a crash, and was then illegally put back in use.
According to the Kan public broadcaster, he managed to drive into Israel from the West Bank with the unauthorized car, which had Israeli license plates.
Hamad carried out the attack a day after his cousin Majohed al-Najjar opened fire at an Israeli military post near the settlement of Ofra and was then chased and shot dead by troops.
Hamad was on the way to his cousin’s funeral when he decided to carry out the attack, Walla reported.
