Tel Aviv bus bomber sentenced to 25 years

[Jefferson23]

The November 2012 blast during Operation Pillar of Defense wounded 28; Palestinian Mohammed Mafarja pleaded guilty in December to the charges.

By Haaretz and Reuters | Mar. 10, 2014 | 12:59 PM

The man who planted a bomb on a Tel Aviv bus in 2012 and wounded 28 people was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Monday.

Mohammed Mafarja, 19, a Palestinian who was residing in Israel as part of the family reunification plan, pleaded guilty in December to charges that included attempted murder. He was accused of working on behalf of Hamas.

The bomb was detonated as the bus was passing near the Defense Ministry building in Tel Aviv on November 21, 2012, the last day of Operation Pillar of Defense, an eight-day war between Hamas and Israel.

Mafarja, who worked in the city of Modi'in and has Israeli citizenship, was suspected of planting the bomb on behalf of a terrorist cell. The members of the cell were arrested in Taibeh and in the Modi'in area by a special police unit and additional security forces within hours of the attack, which struck a No. 142 bus on Shaul Hamelech Street in central Tel Aviv.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.578888

[Jefferson23]

1. Tel Aviv bus bomber sentenced to 25 years in prison

Muhammad Abed al-Jaffer Nasser Mafarja sentenced after signing plea deal in December.

The man who bombed a Tel Aviv bus, wounding 26 people during Operation Pillar of Defense in 2012, was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Monday.

Muhammad Abed al-Jaffer Nasser Mafarja was convicted as part of a plea bargain deal he signed in December 2013, which dropped the harshest charges against him and allowed him to avoid a life sentence.


Mafarja's lawyer, Laviv Habib was unsuccessful in his efforts to seek a sentence shorter for his client than the 25 years which was the maximum possible sentence under the plea deal.

Habib said although Mafarja’s actions were “not simple, he was young, his failure was as a teenager who was not yet 18 at the time of the bombing, he was pressured by others and did not fully understand the consequences of his actions.”

Habib added that now Mafarja “is taking responsibility, has shown regret” and reasserted an earlier argument that the bomb was a “weak bomb” designed to convince the IDF to end its military actions in Gaza and “not primarily to kill.”

Pressed on Mafarja’s intent, Habib admitted that while Mafarja said he did not intend to kill, he knew it was a possible consequence of his actions, but in the end no one died, despite many injuries.

The prosecution agreed to drop the harshest charge, of aiding the enemy in a time of war, which could have carried a life sentence. They agreed to drop that charge because of Mafarja’s young age, the lack of fatalities, and that the charge would not necessarily guarantee a life sentence.

http://www.jpost.com/National-News/Tel-Aviv-bus-bomber-sentenced-to-25-years-in-prison-344856

[King_David]

2. Probably be out at the next "gesture" nt

[Jefferson23]

3. Difficult for Israel's government..they'd rather give up a prisoner than land.

So you may be correct...at some point.

[Scootaloo]

4. If the pattern holds...

We'll find out in 20-25 years.

[King_David]

5. I hope so,

He deserves his jail time.

[Scootaloo]

6. Can't disagree there n/t