The Jerusalem District Court handed down a sentence Tuesday in the case of a deadly stoning attack that cost the life of Jerusalem resident Alexander Levlovich as he was returning home at night from a Rosh Hashana dinner in 2015.
Abed Muhamad Abed Rabu Dawiyat, age 19 at the time, led three others in hurling stones at Levlovich’s car as he drove down the street towards home, causing him to lose control of the vehicle and sending it crashing into a light pole.
Within days, the Shin Bet intelligence service had tracked down Muhamad Salah Muhamad, age 18; Walid Faras Mustafa, age 18; and Dawiyat plus a fourth member of the group — a minor whose name could not be published due to his age — and arrested them all.
Dawiyat was sentenced Tuesday (Jan. 24, 2017) to 18 years in prison following his conviction on manslaughter charges.
He also received a suspended sentence, and a fine for damages in addition to the prison term, which came close to the 20-year maximum allowed for stoning.
It’s the longest sentence in Israeli history ever handed down for such attacks.
A bill to increase the penalty for stoning attacks was proposed a few months prior to the attack on Levlovich. It was passed into law by the Knesset just a few weeks after he was killed.
The terrorist the second attacker to be judged. Two more terrorists remain to face justice.