The Samaria Military Court sentenced Amir ‘Abd Almonam Alan Khatatba to 78 months in prison after he was convicted of throwing a Molotov cocktail at an Israeli car near the town of Elon Moreh ןמ Samaria and injuring two of the car’s occupants.
The sentence is the result of a plea agreement that includes the payment of compensation to the victims in the amount of NIS 20,000.
The attack occurred about two and a half years ago, when Khatatba and another defendant who is a minor, made Molotov cocktails and threw them at an Israeli car with four passengers in it. Molotov cocktails hit the vehicle, smashed the rear and left-rear windshield, and penetrated the car. The fire gripped the vehicle, and one of the passengers was burned in the neck. Two of the passengers were evacuated to a hospital and needed medical treatment.
Khatatba admitted to a number of security offenses, including manufacturing Molotov cocktails in the past, throwing Molotov cocktails at a bus and taxi in the past, as well as incitement posts on social media, all in addition to the attack.
The verdict states that the defendant’s actions are “extremely serious, violate the protected values of maintaining bodily integrity, human life, security and public order. These acts are particularly serious against the background of the defendant’s relevant criminal past. Not for nothing, more than once, it was determined that a Molotov cocktail is a deadly weapon.”
Haim Bleicher, of the Honenu rights organization, which represented the victims, welcomed the decision.
“There is no doubt that every terrorist should serve decades in prison, if not life imprisonment, but under the existing conditions this is an achievement,” he explained, noting evidentiary difficulties with the case.
The victims’ involvement in bringing during the trial in court helped achieve a more significant sentence, he said.
