Nearly two years after the terrorist murder of Rina Shnerb, the Judea Military Court on Tuesday opened the trial of the main five defendants in the case.
Although Shnerb was murdered on August 23, 2019, and the defendants were indicted in December 2019, the case against the five main defendants has been muddled in pretrial documents and evidentiary disputes.
The main five defendants are Samer Arbid, Walid Hanatshe, Abed el-Razeq Faraj, Yzaen Majames and Kasem Shibli.
One major issue debated before the court on Tuesday, and which it has yet to decide, is to what extent the five defendants will have their cases heard by different panels.
Because some of the defendants incriminated each other during their interrogations, creating conflicts of interest between them and the potential for judicial prejudice, a procedural protection for them would be to split them into separate cases.
Another issue raised was a petition by defendants to remove the seal on aspects of the evidence and handling of their interrogations, which are currently classified, based on national security concerns.
That issue is also expected to be decided at a future hearing.
One major twist in the case was the Justice Ministry’s decision to open a criminal probe into whether the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) had broken the law and tortured Arbid during his interrogation.
Although Arbid’s medical condition during his interrogation deteriorated so badly that he was hospitalized and nearly died, the ministry decided this past January that his condition was caused by an unusual and unforeseen medical complication.
Any moderate physical pressure applied to Arbid by the Shin Bet was within the permitted spectrum of pressure and was justified to save human lives, the ministry said.
Technically, this side issue is not supposed to delay the primary trial, but it may have in this case.
Shnerb family lawyer and former IDF West Bank chief prosecutor Lt.-Col. (res.) Maurice Hirsch criticized the continued delays in the case.
The scene in court on Tuesday of smiling terrorists waving to their visiting families was very disturbing to Shnerb’s parents, Eitan and Shira, he said.
On June 16, the IDF West Bank Prosecution requested a lenient sentence from the Judea Military Court for an accomplice to Shnerb’s murder, as part of a plea bargain.
The accomplice, Ravchi Karaja, was convicted by the court on June 16. But the issue of jail time was left open for debate before the court, with the IDF Prosecution seeking a mere three years.
Karaja was an accomplice to Shibli.
Hirsch slammed the suggested sentence as far more lenient than the six- to seven-year sentence indicated by sentencing guidelines for his crimes.
In December 2019, the Shin Bet said in a statement it had uncovered and dismantled a 50-person terrorist cell believed to be behind a string of deadly attacks in the area.
Its investigation into the Dolev attack on Shnerb indicated that the cell planned to carry out additional attacks in the near future, the Shin Bet said.
As part of the investigation, approximately 50 Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PLPF) operatives, including senior members of the Palestinian terrorist group, were arrested. A large number of weapons were seized, including M-16s, Kalashnikovs, Uzis, Galil automatic rifles, pistols with silencers, ammunition and fertilizers to build bombs, as well as walkie-talkies, telescopic devices and other items discovered by security officials.
In October 2019, the Shin Bet said it had arrested suspects behind the attack at Ein Bubin Spring, near the settlement of Dolev, in which Shnerb was killed and her father and brother were wounded.
According to the Shin Bet’s December 2019 statement, Arbid prepared the explosive device and detonated it when he saw the Shnerb family approaching the spring.
No date has been set for the final sentencing decision regarding Karaja.
Anna Ahronheim contributed to this report.