Palestinian sentenced to life for murder of soldier Almog Shiloni
New law invoked to block future Schalit-style prisoner exchange.
By YONAH JEREMY BOBUpdated: SEPTEMBER 15, 2016 03:24Almog Shiloni, soldier killed in stabbing attack in Tel Aviv(photo credit: IAF)
Nur-al-Din Abu Hashaya of Nablus was sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday by the Tel Aviv District Court for the stabbing murder of air force Sgt. Almog Shiloni, 20, on November 10, 2014, near a Tel Aviv train station.Abu Hashaya, 18 at the time, had entered Israel illegally on November 9 with the goal of killing a soldier and to sacrifice himself in order to achieve the status of a shahid or “martyr.”As he approached the Tel Aviv Hagana Railway Station, he saw that Shiloni was carrying an M-16 rifle and decided that he would be his target. He repeatedly stabbed Shiloni, of Modi’in, in the upper body with a large kitchen-knife and tried to steal his rifle before fleeing. Paramedics transported Shiloni to Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer, where he died.Abu Hashaya was indicted in late November 2014 and his sentence will keep him in prison until around 2056. He was also ordered to pay NIS 258,000 in compensation to his victim’s family.Also, due to the aggravated circumstances, including the ideological motivation for the murder, Abu Hashaya will become the first convict covered under law passed in June that bars certain court-designated murderers from release in a future prisoner exchange or from early parole.According to the law, a court can declare certain murderers ineligible for a parole hearing until they have served at least 15 years in prison, and ineligible for actual release before serving a minimum of 40 years. The Tel Aviv District Court chose to make this declaration regarding Abu Hashaya along with the life sentence.
