Kotel shooter gets life sentence for murdering Jewish visitor over ethnic slur
Hadi Kabalan also ordered to pay NIS 250,000 each to victim Ben-Shalush's mother and daughter and NIS 75,000 to his sister.
By YONAH JEREMY BOBWORSHIPERS PRAY at the Western Wall in the capital during Hanukka last year.(photo credit: REUTERS)
The Jerusalem District Court on Monday sentenced former security guard Hadi Kabalan to life in prison for murdering Doron Ben- Chelouche during his 2013 visit to the Western Wall.Kabalan, who was convicted on January 21, 2015, was also ordered to pay NIS 250,000 each to Ben- Chelouche’s mother and daughter and NIS 75,000 to his sister.The indictment, filed on July 4, 2013, said Kabalan and another guard checked 46-year-old Ben-Chelouche at the security checkpoint when he arrived at the Western Wall area, as he did on a daily basis, on June 21, 2013.After the check, Ben- Chelouche yelled at the two security guards and used a racial slur against them for being Druse.The security guards continued their work, during which Kabalan asked two other guards if they would give him NIS 1,000 if he killed Ben-Chelouche and said, “I’ll kill him.”When Ben-Chelouche walked by the checkpoint later, Kabalan followed him into a nearby clearing near the bathrooms, and when he was meters away opened fire.Kabalan fired at the center of Ben-Chelouche’s body 14 times, while coming closer and closer to him, and did not stop firing until his magazine was empty.After the shooting, Kabalan said he shot Ben- Chelouche to death because the 46-year-old shouted “Allahu akbar” and reached into his pocket, thus leading him to believe that Ben- Chelouche was a terrorist with a bomb.But none of the witnesses nearby heard Ben- Chelouche call out “Allahu akbar,” and testimony from regulars in the area indicated that while Ben- Chelouche was a controversial character, he was completely benign.The court noted that the place where Kabalan shot Ben-Chelouche was a clearing empty of people, making it seem unlikely that Ben-Chelouche appeared to be about to blow himself up, if his goal was to kill many people.
Next, the court rejected the idea that other aspects of Ben-Chelouche’s appearance and accessories, which Kabalan said he thought indicated Ben-Chelouche had a bomb, could reasonably indicate his being a terrorist or justify Kabalan’s shooting him.
