Ahmed Manasra (centre), a 14-year old Palestinian boy, leaves the District Court in Jerusalem after his sentencing.
Jerusalem: An Israeli court sentenced a Palestinian teenager yesterday to 12 years in prison for the stabbing of two Israelis, one of the most high-profile attacks in a recent wave of violence.
Ahmed Manasra, 14, was earlier found guilty of the attempted murder of a 20-year-old and a 12-year-old boy in the Jewish settlement neighbourhood of Pisgat Zeev in annexed east Jerusalem.
He was 13 at the time of the October 2015 attack that led to a propaganda war between Palestinians and Israelis, sparked by surveillance footage later released of the incident. Manasra carried out the attack along with his 15-year-old cousin Hassan, who was shot dead by security forces. The two Israelis were wounded.
In addition to the jail term, the Jerusalem district court ordered Manasra to pay 80,000 shekels ($21,000, ¤19,000) in compensation to the adult victim and 100,000 to the boy, the ruling said. His lawyer Lea Tsemel said she planned to appeal the sentence. The sentencing and trial were closed to journalists because Manasra is a minor. Prosecutors had requested 12 years. Manasra had earlier pleaded not guilty, saying he had not personally stabbed either of the victims and had only intended to frighten them.
The teenager appeared calm as he entered and left the courtroom in east Jerusalem. His father refused comment, asking journalists to leave him alone.
"Our defeat, of the legal team, is a very small defeat compared to the wide and deep defeat of both the Israeli society and the court," said defence lawyer Tsemel.
She said that "everyone talked about the full rehabilitation he is going through. Everyone talked about a kid who's not dangerous at all. "And despite this, the court approved the prosecution's claim and gave him the full sentence, plus an unimaginable and not-possible fine."
Since October 2015, violence has claimed the lives of 238 Palestinians, 36 Israelis, two Americans, a Jordanian, an Eritrean and a Sudanese. Many analysts say Palestinian frustration with the Israeli occupation and settlement-building in the West Bank, comatose peace efforts and their own fractured leadership have helped feed the unrest.
