Terrorist Mahmoud Abu-Atawi has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for attempting to murder IDF soldiers. Atawi was sentenced by the Be'er Sheva District Court for the June 2008 attack.
Abu-Atawi began his attack by infiltrating the western Negev, sneaking out of Gaza at a point near the Karni crossing. Fearing capture, he decided to hide in bushes near the security fence rather than continue further.
IDF soldiers soon discovered Abu-Atawi. As two soldiers approached him in order to handcuff him and another six soldiers stood six meters away, Abu-Atawi reached for a grenade that he had hidden in the bushes, pulled the pin, screamed “Allah hu akbar” (Arabic for “Allah is great”) and hurled it at the soldiers.
The grenade landed just half a meter from the soldiers – but miraculously, it failed to explode.
District Court judge Rut Aviyada described Abu-Atawi's crimes as severe. “The accused infiltrated the borders of Israel while armed with a grenade, knowing and planning to use it against IDF soldiers if he were to be caught. When the accused was caught and arrested he carried out his plan and threw the grenade at the IDF soldiers, while saying something that clearly revealed his intentions,” she said in her verdict.
"Only due to a miracle was nobody injured,” she said. The act of throwing a live grenade at a short distance is perhaps more serious than crimes such as firing rockets or planting bombs, she added, as it was far more likely to cause casualties.
Abu-Atawi began his attack by infiltrating the western Negev, sneaking out of Gaza at a point near the Karni crossing. Fearing capture, he decided to hide in bushes near the security fence rather than continue further.
IDF soldiers soon discovered Abu-Atawi. As two soldiers approached him in order to handcuff him and another six soldiers stood six meters away, Abu-Atawi reached for a grenade that he had hidden in the bushes, pulled the pin, screamed “Allah hu akbar” (Arabic for “Allah is great”) and hurled it at the soldiers.
The grenade landed just half a meter from the soldiers – but miraculously, it failed to explode.
District Court judge Rut Aviyada described Abu-Atawi's crimes as severe. “The accused infiltrated the borders of Israel while armed with a grenade, knowing and planning to use it against IDF soldiers if he were to be caught. When the accused was caught and arrested he carried out his plan and threw the grenade at the IDF soldiers, while saying something that clearly revealed his intentions,” she said in her verdict.
"Only due to a miracle was nobody injured,” she said. The act of throwing a live grenade at a short distance is perhaps more serious than crimes such as firing rockets or planting bombs, she added, as it was far more likely to cause casualties.