By REUTERS/ Nir Elias
The Tel Aviv District Court convicted a 21 year old Kalkilya man of attempted murder on Sunday, in connection with a terror attack in south Tel Aviv last August.
In addition to attempted murder, the court also convicted Mohammed bin said Zofan of four other charges: injury with serious intent, robbery, illegal residency and conspiracy to commit a crime.
Eight people were injured in the terror attack, in which Zofan carjacked a taxi at knife-point and rammed it into border- police officers Or Hakim and Albert Sabah and a civilian bystander, Itay Weinberg, before stabbing several others.
The panel of judges, Sarah Dotan, Daphna Avnieli and Shaul Shohet convicted Zofan after he agreed to retract his earlier not guilty plea and admitted the charges against him. During Sunday's hearing, Zofan said through an interpreter that he agreed to withdraw his earlier plea.
Following the conviction, the State Attorney's Office said the prosecution had not agreed to a plea bargain in the light of the state's position that the severity of the offenses did not justify any relief to the defendant, who was apprehended at the scene and admitted carrying out the offenses for nationalistic reasons.
The court will hear arguments for sentencing on April 18th.
A second defendant, 21- year-old south Tel Aviv resident Mohammed Bin Saddam Hussein Biari, was also charged in connection with the terror attack, with conspiracy to commit a crime, failure to prevent a crime and destroying evidence.
According to the original indictment filed in September, in 2011 Zofan was living in Israel illegally, making a living by doing odd jobs and sleeping in an abandoned apartment next to the Siksik mosque in Jaffa.
While praying at the mosque Zofan met Biari, an Arab-Israeli from Jaffa. The two then began to plan a terror attack.
By July 2011, Zofan had already begun physical training for the terror attack. He practiced how to use a knife and a stick in his apartment.
On August 12, during Ramadan, Zofan and Biari hatched a plot to stab Israeli security forces and civilian Jewish Israelis near the al- Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.
They bought two knives and traveled by bus to the capital.
Zofan and Biari stayed at the al-Aqsa mosque for two weeks. After speaking to a cleric at the mosque, however, Zofan told his friend that he had decided to act alone and would return to Jaffa to become a “martyr.” Before he left, however, Zofan used Biari’s cellphone to record a short film of himself for his parents.
On August 28, Zofan went to the new Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv, planning to stab a soldier, steal his gun and shoot border police. When he failed to find a suitable victim, he noticed a tractor on a building site on Yedidia Frenkel Street in the Florentin neighborhood.
Zofan decided to steal the tractor and use it to run over soldiers.
That night, Zofan returned to the construction site but could not find the tractor.
Instead, he decided to hijack a taxi and use it to attack border police standing at the nearby junction between Abarbanel and Salameh streets.
Biari was arrested shortly afterward, after he had deleted Zofan’s movie from his cellphone.
In addition to attempted murder, the court also convicted Mohammed bin said Zofan of four other charges: injury with serious intent, robbery, illegal residency and conspiracy to commit a crime.
Eight people were injured in the terror attack, in which Zofan carjacked a taxi at knife-point and rammed it into border- police officers Or Hakim and Albert Sabah and a civilian bystander, Itay Weinberg, before stabbing several others.
The panel of judges, Sarah Dotan, Daphna Avnieli and Shaul Shohet convicted Zofan after he agreed to retract his earlier not guilty plea and admitted the charges against him. During Sunday's hearing, Zofan said through an interpreter that he agreed to withdraw his earlier plea.
Following the conviction, the State Attorney's Office said the prosecution had not agreed to a plea bargain in the light of the state's position that the severity of the offenses did not justify any relief to the defendant, who was apprehended at the scene and admitted carrying out the offenses for nationalistic reasons.
The court will hear arguments for sentencing on April 18th.
A second defendant, 21- year-old south Tel Aviv resident Mohammed Bin Saddam Hussein Biari, was also charged in connection with the terror attack, with conspiracy to commit a crime, failure to prevent a crime and destroying evidence.
According to the original indictment filed in September, in 2011 Zofan was living in Israel illegally, making a living by doing odd jobs and sleeping in an abandoned apartment next to the Siksik mosque in Jaffa.
While praying at the mosque Zofan met Biari, an Arab-Israeli from Jaffa. The two then began to plan a terror attack.
By July 2011, Zofan had already begun physical training for the terror attack. He practiced how to use a knife and a stick in his apartment.
On August 12, during Ramadan, Zofan and Biari hatched a plot to stab Israeli security forces and civilian Jewish Israelis near the al- Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.
They bought two knives and traveled by bus to the capital.
Zofan and Biari stayed at the al-Aqsa mosque for two weeks. After speaking to a cleric at the mosque, however, Zofan told his friend that he had decided to act alone and would return to Jaffa to become a “martyr.” Before he left, however, Zofan used Biari’s cellphone to record a short film of himself for his parents.
On August 28, Zofan went to the new Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv, planning to stab a soldier, steal his gun and shoot border police. When he failed to find a suitable victim, he noticed a tractor on a building site on Yedidia Frenkel Street in the Florentin neighborhood.
Zofan decided to steal the tractor and use it to run over soldiers.
That night, Zofan returned to the construction site but could not find the tractor.
Instead, he decided to hijack a taxi and use it to attack border police standing at the nearby junction between Abarbanel and Salameh streets.
Biari was arrested shortly afterward, after he had deleted Zofan’s movie from his cellphone.
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