Lod Court Sentences Binyamin Resident to 13 Years in Prison for Aisha Rabi Death
A Lod youth court sentenced a Binyamin resident to 13 years in prison and maximum compensation for the 2018 rock-throwing death of Aisha Rabi, citing a terrorist motive.
The Central District Court in Lod, sitting as a youth court, sentenced a young resident of the Binyamin region to 13 years in prison, suspended prison time, and the maximum statutory compensation of 258,000 shekels to the family of the late Aisha Rabi. The defendant was convicted of killing her under circumstances of a terrorist act.
The panel of judges, headed by Judge Michal Barak-Nevo alongside Judges Michael Tamir and Amit Michels, determined that in September 2018, the defendant hurled a stone weighing approximately 2 kilograms and measuring 20 centimeters near the settlement of Rehalim. The stone was thrown at a Palestinian-license-plate vehicle carrying the victim, her husband, and their young daughter.
As part of the ruling, the judges rejected the defendant's denial of involvement, while noting the fact that he expressed sorrow over the incident. The court emphasized that in determining the sentence, it weighed on one hand the severity of the acts, their grave consequences, and the importance of deterrence, and on the other hand, the fact that he was a minor of about 16 at the time of the offense and the application of the updated homicide legislation.
It was further noted that the defendant "has undergone a significant rehabilitation journey over the seven years since the act, has been aided by a new environment, and has matured," facts that emerged from the probation service report and testimonies presented in his favor.
The judges described the act as "heinous and cruel," noting that Rabi, then a mother of eight, was killed before the eyes of her daughter, who was nine years old at the time, innocent of any crime, out of a nationalist motive that added an aspect of extreme severity.
