Stabbing spree in Tel Aviv: Sentences handed down to the men who terrorized the city

Two young men who terrorized the streets of Tel Aviv with knives and machetes have been sentenced to prison after being convicted of a series of violent offenses, including two stabbing incidents that occurred within ten days.

The Tel Aviv District Court sentenced Aron Kidane to 24 months in prison and Emmanuel Ovad to 40 months in prison, after both admitted to the charges as part of a plea bargain in an amended indictment.

According to the indictment, Kidane and Ovad conspired to demand property through threats. In one incident, during a night in Tel Aviv, the two rode an electric scooter while masked, accompanied by another person. After catching up to two young men on electric bicycles, they demanded their belongings.

According to the charge, Ovad held a long-bladed knife and Kidane held a machete. After the victim replied that he only had a mobile phone, the two grabbed him, threw him to the road, and threatened him. When his friend tried to intervene, Ovad stabbed the young man in the thigh. The three fled the scene, and the victim was taken to the hospital with a cut and bruising.

About ten days later, another incident occurred at Gan HaKovshim Park in Tel Aviv. The two arrived at the scene armed. Ovad brandished a machete and Kidane a long-bladed knife, threatening a 17-year-old boy and his friends.

Kidane demanded that the minor hand over his phone, and after failing to obtain it, pushed him and stabbed him in the thigh, later striking him in the chest with his knee. The two continued to brandish the weapons at those present before leaving the scene. The minor was taken for treatment at Ichilov Hospital.

In addition, Kidane was convicted of possession of a knife, while two additional cases were added to Ovad’s file, including an assault using a bottle and stones on a bar worker on Allenby Street in Tel Aviv, as well as an offense of assault and actual bodily harm committed by two or more people.

The prosecution emphasized the severity of the acts, arguing that this was a pattern of operation that included prior planning, tracking victims, and attacking even when a victim was lying on the ground. According to the prosecution, the fact that the second incident occurred shortly after the first indicates a "criminal lifestyle."

The defense argued that the two are young, have no criminal record, admitted to their actions, and saved judicial time. The defense attorneys asked the court to consider that the injuries were not in the most severe range and that the defendants expressed remorse.

Judge Shmuel Melamed determined that the acts significantly harmed personal security and public order. "The ability of citizens to walk in the street without fear of violent attack is a cornerstone of a civilized society," the judge wrote, adding that carrying knives and machetes and using them violently creates fear and panic in the public.

Ultimately, Kidane was sentenced to 24 months in prison and ordered to pay 5,000 shekels in compensation to the minor who was stabbed. Ovad was sentenced to 40 months in prison and ordered to pay compensation totaling 13,000 shekels to the various complainants.