A Jerusalem district court for juveniles handed down a 12-year sentence on Monday to a teenage Arab terrorist who stabbed and seriously wounded two Jews in a terror attack last October.
Ahmed Manasra, a 14-year old resident of Beit Hanina neighborhood in the capital, joined his cousin in a stabbing attack targeting Jewish civilians in the Pisgat Zeev neighborhood of northern Jerusalem just over one year ago.
The pair walked down Moshe Dayan Boulevard, the main thoroughfare in Pisgat Zeev, hunting for victims, when they fell upon 20-year old Yosef Twito. Twito was stabbed twice before he managed to flee.
The two terrorists then turned a corner and found a 12-year old child outside of a candy store. The terrorists stabbed and nearly killed the boy, who was hospitalized in serious condition after the attack.
Manasra was captured after being struck by a car, while his cousin, the second assailant, was shot and killed by police after charging officers while brandishing a knife.
The court, which included judges Yoram Noam, Rivka Feldman-Friedman, and Moshe Bar-Am, ruled that Manasra’s age did not justify a reduced sentence, given the severity of his crimes.
“His status as a minor does not give him protection from the proper punishment,” the decision read, “including serving time in prison, given the seriousness of the crimes he committed.”
While at the time of the crime Manasra was 13-years old, he was now 14, and thus able to serve time behind bars.
In addition to the 12-year jail term, Manasra was also given a two year suspended sentence and ordered to pay 180,000 shekels ($48,000) in damages to the two victims, 80,000 to Twito and 100,000 to the minor.