Elhai Taharlev with his grandfather Shlomo
Elhai Taharlev with his grandfather ShlomoEhud Dahan

The Ofer military court on Wednesday morning handed two life sentences to terrorist Malak Khamed, who killed an IDF soldier in a ramming attack in April.

The attack, which occurred at the Ofra Junction, left Elhai Taharlev dead and a second soldier injured.

Khamed was convicted of murdering Taharlev and attempting to murder the second soldier and civilians who were at the scene. He will financially compensate the Taharlev family, as well as the family of the injured soldier.

Prior to the ruling, Taharlev's father Rabbi Ehud Taharlev, said, "We asked the judges to ensure that the terrorist never sees the light of day again, and we believe that is what will happen and that they will judge fairly. However, unfortunately, Israeli jails offer all the amenities of a five-star hotel."

"I hope that the judges rule properly, and that their ruling hurts the terrorist and all those who raised him and sent him out to us. The ruling should hurt them and should provide deterrence in a fashion that causes future terrorists to think twice before harming a Jew."

Rabbi Taharlev noted that the terrorist admitted to his crime in order to speed up the court process.

"There are a few possible reasons for his decision," he said. "One of them may be the financial compensation his family will receive [while he is in prison], but we believe his reason is to speed up the prisoner swap currently under discussion. We find this possibility to be very troubling."

"However, I hope that whatever agreement we come to, if we come to one, no one will think to release a murderer like Khamed, who has our son's blood on his hands."