Four Members of Hamas Murder Squad Sentenced to Life in Prison

June 23, 2016

2 min read

An IDF military tribunal in Samaria sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday four Palestinian members of the Hamas terrorist organization who murdered an Israeli rabbi and his wife in October 2015. A fifth member was found guilty but has not yet been sentenced, and two others await trial.

Eitam and Naama Henkin were murdered by Palestinian terrorists in a drive by shooting, Thursday, October 1, 2015. (Photo: Channel 2 Screenshot)
Eitam and Naama Henkin were murdered by Palestinian terrorists in a drive by shooting, Thursday, October 1, 2015. (Photo: Channel 2 Screenshot)

Yahia Abdullah Hajj-hamad, Samir Qusah, Karem Razik, and Amjad Aliwi, are four of the five terrorists responsible for the ambush and murder of a husband and wife, Rabbi Eitam and Naama Henkin, who were shot while driving their car near the Itamar community in Samaria as their four kids sat in the back seat. Eitam, son of the prominent American-born educators Rabbi Yehuda and Chana Henkin, was a US citizen.

The four men were sentenced to two consecutive life sentences and an additional 30-year prison term each. Zeid Jamil Amar, the fifth member of the terror cell hasn’t been sentenced yet. Two additional members of the Nablus Hamas cell have yet to be tried.

According to the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), the terrorists belonged to a Hamas cell in Nablus and are also responsible for several other shooting attacks in Samaria during August 2015.

The terror attack that took the lives of the two parents shook the nation last year. Even more shocking was the fact that their children, Matan, 9, Nitzan, 7, Netta, 4, and four-month-old baby Itamar witnessed the murder of their parents.

According to the sentencing, it was the “carefully planned and cold blooded nature of the killing, in which every member of the squad played a vital role” that swayed the military judge to issue a harsh and uniform sentence to all the terrorists, regardless of who pulled the trigger.

Henkins' car after the shooting. (Photo: Lev Hashomron)
Henkins’ car after the shooting. (Photo: Lev Hashomron)

Shin Bet officials have suggested that the children were only spared from death due to the fact that one member of the cell accidentally shot his fellow terrorist causing him serious injury and prompting him to drop his gun on the scene and flee.

It was that gun and “friendly fire” which helped the Shin Bet and IDF identify and capture the terrorists in a Nablus hospital a few days later.

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