Assad Shibli, the 20-year-old Arab who ran over and killed a Jewish girl on Yom Kippur eve two years ago as she rode her bicycle outside a synagogue, has been convicted of manslaughter. The killer's father said the family would appeal what he called the "racist decision."
Accompanied by his friend Muhammed Shibli, 21, the two rammed into a crowd of people at high speed in an ATV (all-terrain vehicle). Muhammad was acquitted of the manslaughter charges, but was convicted of abandoning an injured person.
The victim was Tal Zino, age nine and a half. Two others were nearly killed by the Shibli duo, the charges against them stated, but managed to jump out of their path at the last second.
The driver was not accused of terrorism or murder, even though the charge sheet shows that the two planned the attack in advance. Two or three weeks beforehand, Shibli drove his ATV wildly near the Kfar Tavor gas station. When a Border Police volunteer castigated him, he answered, "Wait and see what we'll do to you on Yom Kippur." He then made a rude gesture and drove off wildly.
A memorial to Tal Zino at the spot where she was killed. Inset: Tal Zino of Blessed Memory.
The two are residents of the Bedouin Galilee
The prosecution initially intended to charge the driver with murder, but backed down in the face of public pressure from the Arab and left-wing end of the spectrum, which charged that death resulting from a driving "accident" could not be considered murder.
Kfar Tavor residents on the scene at the time said that the driver had purposely run down a Jew, and that he had ignored numerous requests to leave the area before killing the girl. He drove to the area of the synagogue, executed a "wheelie" on the ATV's rear wheels and drove straight into a crowd of children.
The dead girl’s mother said after the ruling was handed down, “This will obviously not bring Tal back, though she is always with us. I am pleased that the court convicted him, and I hope that he will receive the maximum sentence – 20 years.” However, she expressed disappointment that he was not charged as a terrorist, and that his accomplice had not been convicted of a graver crime.
The Zinos were blessed with a new baby son earlier this year.