Planned a terror attack and stabbed a 74-year-old: Heavy sentence for a cleaner who tried to murder an elderly woman in Jerusalem

The Jerusalem District Court sentenced today, Tuesday, Nabil Shaabani, a 62-year-old resident of the city, to a heavy sentence of 22.5 years in actual prison. Shaabani confessed and was convicted of a terrorist act of attempted murder with a nationalist motive, as well as theft from a 74-year-old woman whom he had known for many years after working in her home doing cleaning and repair work. In addition to the prison sentence, he was given a six-month suspended sentence and ordered to pay 150,000 shekels in compensation to the victim.

From the amended indictment to which Shaabani confessed, a chilling picture of planning and execution emerges. According to the facts, Shaabani was fed up with his life due to his economic situation and his estrangement from his family. After watching news broadcasts and seeing the situation of the residents in Gaza in the shadow of the "Iron Swords" war, the decision matured in his heart to carry out a stabbing attack against Jews and die for a national-ideological motive. Initially, he planned to carry out the attack in the area of the light rail station near the Jerusalem Municipality, assuming that many soldiers and police officers were present there.

However, his plans changed when he arrived at the complainant's home to complete a repair job he had started the day before. At that moment, Shaabani decided that he would carry out the attack he had planned by murdering the elderly woman, even if the act did not ultimately lead to his own death. He strangled her for long minutes, and after stealing jewelry and cash from her home, he left the apartment convinced that she was no longer alive.

Shortly thereafter, Shaabani discovered that he had forgotten his walking stick at the scene and returned to the apartment. When he noticed to his astonishment that the elderly woman was still alive, he attacked her brutally once again, strangled her, and stabbed her in her neck and chest in an attempt to ensure her death. As a result of these severe actions, the woman was seriously injured.

At the sentencing arguments stage, the Jerusalem District Attorney's Office requested that the defendant be sentenced to between 22 and 26 years in prison, alongside maximum compensation for the victim. The prosecution representatives emphasized the exploitation of trust and prior acquaintance, the cruelty and determination to complete the murder, and the immense physical and mental damage caused to the victim as a result of the nationalist motive.

The panel of judges — Eli Abarbanel, Michal Sharvit, and Pnina Nevirt — sharply criticized the defendant's actions. The verdict stated that Shaabani harmed not only the complainant but also the fragile fabric of life that exists between Arabs and Jews in the capital. The judges emphasized the special severity of attempting to murder a Jew simply for being a Jew, specifically at the workplace, while cynically exploiting a personal acquaintance.

The court further determined that the multitude of terror events intended to murder Jews in recent years, and in particular the events of October 7, 2023, requires the establishment of strict and deterrent punishment. The judges also referred to Shaabani's conduct after the act, noting that although he confessed to the crime immediately upon his arrest and cooperated with his interrogators, in his final words before the sentencing, he chose not to express any remorse for his actions.