The Tel Aviv District Court on Monday sentenced 20-year-old Tayibe resident Mohammed Mafarja to 25 years in jail for placing an explosive device on a Tel Aviv bus in November 2012, which wounded 24 people. On Nov. 21, 2012, during Operation Pillar of Defense, Mafarja placed an explosive on Bus 142. He got off the bus near the Diamond Exchange in Ramat Gan, and minutes later, an accomplice detonated the device via cellphone as the bus traveled west on Shaul Hamelech Street in Tel Aviv. In the plea bargain, the prosecution demanded the maximum sentence of 25 years in prison, the punishment he ultimately received. "These are severe circumstances because the accused is an Israeli citizen and because of the results of the attack," the verdict read. "There is no room for leniency or forgiveness for one who chooses to savagely attack the innocent."
Credit: Reuters
As part of a plea bargain, Mafarja was convicted of attempted murder, carrying out actions with intent to aid an enemy, and causing an explosion which resulted in severe injuries.
