Palestinian Authority terrorist Ala Qabha, 26, was indicted in a military court Monday for the March 16 ramming attack on four IDF soldiers that left two them dead outside a military outpost near the northern Samaria Jewish town of Mevo Dotan.
The 26-year-old killer confessed the next day to carrying out the attack, Shin Bet intelligence agents said. Video footage confirmed his confession, showing that he drove past the group of soldiers, then made a U-turn and accelerated to drive straight into them.
It wasn’t Qabha’s first experience with terror: he had recently been released from prison and was known to Israeli intelligence services, according to Hebrew-language media reports, having served 17 months for planning an attack on Mevo Dotan.
IDF Sgt. Netanel Kahalani, 20, and IDF Capt. Ziv Daos, 21, were both killed in the attack, and both were posthumously promoted to their current ranks. Two other soldiers were very seriously injured.
Qabha was charged with two counts of “intentionally causing death” – the equivalent of murder under military law – and two counts of attempting to intentionally cause death.
If convicted the killer will receive a generous monthly salary from the Palestinian Authority government – probably in the vicinity of about $3,000 a month – for the duration of his incarceration, plus a stipend upon his release along with assistance in finding lucrative employment.