Haifa Court Sentences Man to Life Imprisonment for Brutal Murder by Fire
The Haifa District Court sentenced Muhammad Abu Abid to life imprisonment and ordered him to pay maximum compensation for the brutal 2022 murder of Rafeh Harsheh, whom he set on fire while sleeping.
The Haifa District Court sentenced Muhammad Abu Abid to life imprisonment after he was convicted of aggravated murder for setting Rafeh Harsheh on fire while he slept in his home in the village of Meiser in 2022. The court also ordered the defendant to pay the maximum compensation of 258,000 shekels to the victim's son.
According to the indictment, Abu Abid planned the attack due to a dispute. He armed himself with flammable material and a lighter, broke into the victim's home, poured the liquid on Harsheh while he was sleeping, ignited him, and fled. The victim was hospitalized with severe burns and passed away about two months later from complications.
The court rejected the defense's request for leniency, emphasizing the extreme cruelty of the premeditated crime. Judges Erez Porat, Nitzan Silman, and Rivka Eisenberg unanimously ruled that the defendant should have foreseen that setting a sleeping person on fire would lead to death.
