The parents of Rina Shnerb, the 17-year-old girl who was murdered on August 23 in a terrorist attack by the spring of Ein Bubin in the Binyamin area, on Thursday held a press conference today at her home in Lod to express their anger over the state’s plan to sign plea bargain with the terrorists.
According to Rina’s father, Rabbi Eitan Shnerb, “Authorized state officials have informed us that the state intends to reach plea bargains with all of Rina’s killers. Not with those who aided and abetted, but with the murderers themselves who were at the spring and murdered her.”
Rina Shnerb was murdered one week after her 17th birthday. According to the indictment filed against five members of the PFLP cell that carried out the murder, they placed a powerful charge near the access road to the spring and ascended to a point overlooking the place. After several hours of waiting, they noticed Rina, her brother Dvir Haim and her father, Rabbi Eitan Shnerb approaching and activated the charge. Rina died in the hospital and her brother and father were injured. The terrorists were picked up a month later.
“We came here to shout and scream bloody murder and to warn and prevent the next murder,” Rabbi Shnerb told reporters on Thursday. “We have been informed by authorized state officials that they plan to sign plea bargains with all of Rina’s killers – some with single-digit sentences. Don’t be confused, these are not people who assisted the murderers, but the murderers themselves who were at the spring and murdered her.”
“This comes after a bloody week, a crazy sequence of attacks with 11 dead,” the father added, unaware that two more victims would be added to the list in only a few hours, in Tel Aviv. “I personally saw Rina’s blood spilling like water. What happened to us? Such a thing cannot be.”
Shira Shnerb, Rina’s mother, added: “We see them in court being happy, and it’s clear they will continue this way after they are released. We strongly oppose the discourse and deals with the beasts who denied Rina her most basic right, the right to live.”
There has already been one plea bargain in this case: last year, Rabhi Karahja, who was accused of knowing about the intent to carry out the attack and not preventing it, was sentenced to three and a half years in prison. The sentence included his membership in a terrorist organization and his admission that he had heard from his friend about the planned attack.
The IDF Spokesperson responded that no plea bargains have been signed with the members of the terrorist squad. But then added: “Decisions regarding the legal proceedings will be made after the family’s position has been received, and giving their position a significant weight.”
So there are plea bargains.
