Terrorist Who Burned Ayala Shapira Sentenced to 18 Years in Prison

Mohammad Badouan, the terrorist who in 2014 badly injured then 11-year-old Ayala Shapira in a terror attack on the road to the Jewish settlement of El Matan in central Shomron, was sentenced to 18 years in prison by a military court Tuesday night. Badouan was convicted on charges of attempted murder for throwing the firebomb at the vehicle in which Shapira and her father Avner were riding on the evening of December 24th, 2014.

The Shapiras suffered burns, with Ayala badly burned throughout her body, but managed to escape from the vehicle. They were treated on the scene by Magen David Adom rescue workers and taken to a hospital in Kfar Sava.

Badouan was also convicted of another attack the month before, in which he threw a firebomb at another vehicle driven by an Israeli. B’chasdei Shamayim, there were no injuries in that incident. Badouan was arrested the day after the attack on the Shapiras, and has been in custody ever since.

In a statement, Shomron Council head Yossi Dagan said that “the punishment meted out to Badouan is ridiculous and insulting to the victims. A terrorist like this needs to be put away behind lock and key for the rest of his life. We can only hope that this terrorist will not be a candidate for an early release in some deal to free terrorists, and that he will not be kept in too comfortable a prison.”