The Central District Court convicted today (Tuesday) based on their confession the two terrorists - Asad al-Rifai, 20, and Sabhi Abu Shakir, 21 - who carried out the 'axe attack' in El-Ad.
The amended indictment is more severe than the indictment that was filed, and with it, joint plea agreements were filed for 4 cumulative life sentences for murder offenses in the circumstances of an act of terrorism and a cumulative sentence of 20 years in prison for the remaining offenses.
In June 2022, the Central District Attorney's Office, through attorney Netanel Bojo, filed an indictment against the two for committing three offenses of aggravated murder, acts of terrorism in concert, acts of terrorism of attempted murder in concert, acts of terrorism of serious damage in concert, acts of terrorism of injury in concert, and illegal entry into Israel.
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The indictment indicates that the terrorists worked on electrical work in the settlement of Elad, even though they did not have permits to enter Israel.
In August 2021, Abu Shakir decided to carry out a terrorist attack in Israel and die as a "martyr", following the death of his friend in clashes with the IDF. Initially, Al-Rifai refused to cooperate, but later, after the death of another of Abu Shakir's friends, the two decided to carry out an attack and murder Israeli Jews for nationalistic and ideological reasons.
To this end, the two armed themselves with knives and axes, and on Independence Day a year ago they arrived in the city of Elad, where they stabbed the driver who was driving them to death and threw him out of the vehicle. Immediately afterwards, they went on a killing spree through the streets of the city, during which they murdered two more civilians with axes and attempted to murder five civilians who were seriously injured, sometimes in front of their children.
The two then fled the scene and continued their escape in open areas for three days, until they were captured after an extensive manhunt by security forces.
The amended indictment was filed by attorney Bojo after one of the five civilians attacked by al-Rifai and Abu Shakir died of his wounds last February.
As a result, the number of those murdered in the attack increased to four, and accordingly the indictment was amended so that two people are charged with four offenses of murder under aggravated circumstances of a terrorist act in concert.
In addition, the amended indictment attributes to the defendants the commission of the offenses of a terrorist act of attempted murder in concert, a terrorist act of serious damage in concert under aggravated circumstances, a terrorist act of injury in concert under aggravated circumstances, and illegal entry into Israel. .
The investigation into the attack was conducted by the Shin Bet and the Central Command of the Israel Police.
Attorneys Likol Tamsut and Hadar Ezra Weizel, representing the families of the murdered on behalf of the Ministry of Justice's legal aid, said after the conviction: "On May 5, 2022, Boaz Gol, z"l, Yonatan Habakkuk, z"l, and Oren Ben Yiftach, z"l, as well as Shimon Matof, z"l, who was injured in the attack and later died from his wounds, were brutally murdered, and many others were injured. This was after terrorists arrived in the city of Elad on a killing spree of innocent people using axes they had prepared in advance.
Today, the court spoke its mind when it convicted terrorists Asaad al-Rifai and Sabhi Abu Shakir of the crime of aggravated murder.
"Since the murder, the three families, who were accompanied and represented throughout the legal proceedings by the Ministry of Justice's legal aid, have had difficulty processing the brutal loss and continuing on with their lives without their loved one. No one will be able to bring back what they lost, but they hope that at the end of the day the court will restore their sense of control and determine clearly and unequivocally that the terrorists' depraved and cruel behavior must be condemned and they must be left behind bars.".
