Niv Nehemia
Niv NehemiaKaplan hospital

The family of Niv Nehemia, critically wounded in a terrorist attack at the Supersol branch in the city of Yavneh earlier this month, responded to the filing of an indictment against the terrorist, 19-year-old Ismail Abu Aram.

Nehemiah was released from the hospital yesterday after miraculously recovering from the injuries he suffered during the attack.

The terrorist is accused of attempted murder, and the Nehemiah family wants to see justice served. "Niv served as a human shield and prevented a larger attack, and now the terrorist must pay the price," said attorney Yosef Ezra on behalf of the family.

"It seems that the terrorist admitted to trying to kill Niv because he was a Jew, and Niv's many wounds attest to the severity of the [attempted] act," Ezra added,

"According to the penal law, an attempted crime is considered like the full crime. The family sees this terrorist as a murderer, and that's how he should be punished."

Earlier today, the State Prosecutor's Office filed an indictment against Abu Aram for attempted murder during the stabbing attack at the supermarket.

According to prosecutors, Abu Aram decided to commit the attack during a recent pilgrimage to Mecca. During his 12-day stay in Saudi Arabia, Abu Aram became convinced he must commit an act of “Jihad against the Jewish-Israeli occupation”.

On August 2nd, Abu Aram crossed the Green Line into pre-1967 Israel without a permit, arriving in the city of Yavneh. Upon entering a local supermarket, Abu Aram searched for a victim, eventually settling upon Nehemia, the store’s deputy manager.

While Nehemia was arranging items in the store, Abu Aram approached him, drew a knife, and stabbed Nehemia in the neck, chest, stomach, and head. Abu Aram stabbed Nehemia a total of 15 times, leaving Nehemia seriously wounded. The terrorist then fled the store.

Nehemia was discharged from the hospital yesterday, three-and-a-half weeks after the attack.

Staff at Kaplan Hospital in Rehovot say Nehemia underwent a series of difficult operations to stabilize his condition, but is now expected to make a full recovery.