Machaneh Yehudah Scissor Stabber Gets 13.5-Year Sentence

A 17-year-old Arab terrorist was sentenced to 13 and a half years in prison Wednesday after being convicted of a stabbing  at the Machaneh Yehudah market last year. The incident on November 23 of last year left two people injured – one a 70-year-old Arab man who was attacked by the stabbers, and a second, an Israeli security officer, who was injured by a stray bullet when the officer in question shot at the two terrorists, who had in their possession a knife and a pair of scissors, which they were using to carry out the attack.

One of the terrorists, a 16-year-old female Arab, was killed, while the second, who was sentenced Wednesday, was injured in the shootout. Former Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein had filed charges against the officer who killed the terrorist, who he said after an investigation had unnecessarily shot the terrorist, killing her after she was already on the ground. The officer said that she had threatened to blow herself up, as she claimed to be wearing a bomb belt. Video cameras show the terrorist on the ground and both her and the officer talking, but as there is no audio, it was impossible for investigators to determine the nature of their conversation.

Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan slammed the decision to investigate the officer, saying he “couldn’t understand the people who dare to judge security forces when they are forced to take action against terrorists, under the pressure of an attack in progress. It’s as if they are supposed to carry out a laboratory study to determine what other weapons the terrorist has and whether they plan to use them.”

After the attack, the officer was praised by his superiors, including Yerushalayim District Police Chief Moshe Edri, who said that officer’s “professional response prevented injury to more innocent people.”