The Salem Military Court sentenced the murderer of 19 year-old IDF soldier Eden Atias on Monday, court documents revealed, to life imprisonment and an additional three years.
Hussein Rawadara, a 16 year-old Jenin native, stabbed Atias multiple times in the neck and chest near the Afula central bus station last November, in a premeditated terror attack which raised serious questions over the level of security on public transportation in Judea and Samaria.
The young terrorist had proudly boasted that he "wanted to kill an Israeli soldier," further causing outrage over the hot-button issue of school-sanctioned incitement in the Palestinian Authority (PA). The cold-blooded murder triggered outrage in Israel, with angry demonstrators taking to the streets of Afula in protest shortly after the killing.
Rawadara's indictment was announced in December, and his hearing was held behind closed doors.
"The defendant chose not to stab the border policeman who was further away from him and was debating whether to harm a soldier on the bus," judges stated during the sentencing. "After careful consideration, which was cold and calculating, he decided to attack and stab the soldier - having in mind that if he stabbed the soldier, another would come to his defense."
"When he arrived at the Afula central bus station, only Atias remained on the bus," the sentencing continued. "He clutched [the soldier's] head in his hands and covered his mouth to prevent resistance to his actions, then took his right hand and cut his throat with a knife while he slept. "
"The soldier Eden Atias despite being attacked in his sleep, and despite his injuries, attempted to stop the defendant, but the accused stabbed him in the upper body continuously 17 times," it added. "The acts of the defendant, who took a life of another, should never be forgiven. It shocks every heart that is not wicked or blind."
The judges also condemned the "wickedness and malice of the defendant, who initiated these actions, and in his baseness desired to kill Atias just for being a Jew and a soldier."
The judges also noted that the murder can be considered an act of terror.
"The background support the fact that this is an ideological crime," they said. "This is the murder of Jews because they are Jews. They pretend this is simply 'accidental,' and only 'happened' to kill Jews."
"This is an act of murder that can be used as the 'entry ticket' to a terrorist organization, and their being a minor is not a reason or justification to mitigate the sentence," they added.