Fogel Family
Fogel FamilyA7 Staff

Hakim Awad, 18, was given five life sentences for his role in the horrific slaughter of the Fogel family in Itamar earlier this year.

Awad was convicted by a military court for the murders of Ehud, 36, Ruth, 35, and their children Joab, 11, Elad, 4, and a newborn daughter. (A memorial film about the family is on the left side of the Arutz Sheva English site main page.) 

Judges wrote in the sentencing that Hakim Awad’s actions “shock one's conscience and leave any civilized person open mouthed.”

Awad admitted to the charges against him in the indictment, according to which he and another youth, his cousin Amjad Awad, murdered the Fogel family in March.

Just before sentencing, Awad attempted to justify the mass murder saying it was "because of the occupation."

"I don’t regret what I did, and would do it again,” Amjad Awad told reporters in May. “I’m proud of what I did and I’ll accept any punishment I get, even death, because I did it all for Palestine,” he added.

The verdict in the trial of his cousin, also from the village of Awarta, has not been handed down due to his status as a minor at the time of the murders. It is expected in the coming months.

Hakim Awad was also convicted of weapons offenses and various other security offenses.