Scene of the attack
Scene of the attackMDA

Walid Mantsour, a 25-year-old Arab from Jenin, has been sentenced to 21 years in prison after admitting to attempted murder for terrorist motivations, causing grievous bodily harm with aggravating factors of terrorist intent, illegal possession of a knife for terrorist purposes, and illegal entry into Israel.

Mantsour infiltrated into Israel via a breach in the security fence with the express intent of committing a terrorist attack against a Jew. In August of 2020, he entered a construction site in Rosh Haayin where he had once worked, armed with a flick knife. There he encountered the plaintiff on his way up to an apartment that was still under construction. The defendant showed the plaintiff false certification showing that he had keys to the building’s apartments, including the plaintiff’s own, and the two then headed toward the apartment in question.

When they reached the front door, the Arab withdrew his knife, shouted “Allahu Akbar,” and started to stab the victim, striking him around twenty times. The victim fought back but was eventually beaten to the ground, with stab wounds all over his body. He was found by passers-by and taken to hospital in critical condition.

A few days later, the Arab was located in a hide-out in Jenin.

During the court hearing, the Prosecution accused the defendant of carrying out an attack that amounted to “attempted murder that was carried out in an unusually cruel and violent manner … leaving him to die at the scene.”

In his ruling, the judge agreed with the Prosecution’s assessment, noting that “only due to his resourcefulness did the victim survive the attack.”

Mantsour was sentenced to 21 years behind bars and ordered to pay his victim a fine of NIS 200,000.