Murderer of Guy Kafri, Hy”d, Sentenced to Life in Prison

A Haifa court on Tuesday imposed a life sentence, and an additional 22 years in prison, on Mohammed Shinawi, for the murder of Guy Cafri, 47, Hy”d. Cafri was murdered when Shinawi went on a shooting spree in the streets of Haifa, shooting at three people in January of 2017.

Besides killing Cafri, Shinawi also shot and injured Harav Yechiel Ilouz, a Dayan who served in a Haifa beis din. He also shot at another woman who was pushing a baby stroller, but missed.

Shinawi, with the assistance of two friends, traveled to several spots in Haifa’s lower city and conducted the shootings. He later turned himself in to police, telling them that he felt they were “closing in” on him. The two shootings took place about a kilometer away from each other.

Police initially did not find any connection between Shinawi and Islamism, but it later emerged that he had been active in arson attacks during the Second Lebanon War, setting fire to vehicles and buildings owned by Jews. He had become more radical in recent years, investigators added, to the extent that he saw murdering Jews as a religious Muslim duty. Shinawi told investigators that he had shot Kafri and others because of his hatred of Jews.

Overnight Monday, security officials said they arrested 12 wanted security suspects in other areas in Yehudah and Shomron. The suspects were wanted for participating in rioting and throwing stones and firebombs that endangered Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers. Several of the suspects were also charged with belonging to Hamas. All were being questioned on their activities by security forces.