Prison for Arab Thief

An Arab resident of Judea and Samaria was sentenced to four years imprisonment and a fine of 60,000 NIS after pretending to be a National Insurance Institute worker and robbing an elderly woman in her home.

The thief entered the 88-year-old woman’s home while two of her sons, in their 60s, were present. He identified himself as a National Insurance Institute worker, so they let him in. He immediately sprayed the woman and one of the men with tear gas. He then held them at knifepoint and kept demanding more and more money, until he escaped with 46,000 NIS and the woman’s gold necklace, after warning the victims that they shouldn’t dare call the police.

The man was also charged with theft of cash and jewelry from an 81-year-old woman 4 months previously.

The defense claimed that the rescinding of  the defendant's permit to enter Israel is equivalent to expulsion, and that it has left his family with no financial support, which was enough of a penalty. Additionally, the defense said, frequent family crises were what had led the PA Arab to resort to crime. He also attempted to reduce his sentence by offering to compensate the victims with 30,000 NIS and 7,000 NIS, respectively.

The judge pointed out that “The psychological damage, and feelings of helplessness and loss of self-confidence caused to the victims are obvious. The thief took the woman’s life savings, that she saved up for many years."

Nonetheless, the judge considered the defendant’s confession, his lack of a previous criminal record, the calamities his family underwent and the fact that he would be expelled from the country. The judge ordered him to double the compensation he offered  to the families in addition to sentencing him to four years imprisonment and a 1 year suspended sentence.