Nirit Zmora and husband in court
Nirit Zmora and husband in courtHezki Baruch

The Military Advocate General's Office decided to appeal the leniency of the punishment of the terrorist who stabbed Nirit Zmora at the Gush Etzion Junction two and a half years ago and was sentenced to 14 years in prison for aggravated assault rather than for murder.

The judges' ruling caused an uproar when they claimed that the length of the knife blade used by the terrorist might prove that he did not intend to murder, but rather only wound. They also noted that there was only one stabbing rather than a lot of stabbing, a fact they said also seemed to strengthen the doubt about the terrorist's intentions.

"There was a single stabbing, and rare are the cases in which the court convicted of murder or attempted murder for one stabbing, even if it led to the death of the victim. The reason for this lies in the difficulty of determining the existence of an intent to kill when it comes to one stabbing,” wrote the military court judges, Lt. Col. Zvi Heilbronn, Lt. Col. Eti Adar and Major Haim Balilty.

In conclusion, the judges wrote: "Even when a stabbing offense is committed against a nationalistic background, it is necessary to point to the existence of an intention to kill, and when it is doubtful that we are dealing with intent to kill specifically or intent to cause harm, it acts in the defendant's favor. Thus we acted in this case.”

As stated, the Military Advocate General's Office has now decided to appeal the leniency of the sentence.