Some 17 years after the brutal lynching of IDF reservists Yosef Avrahami and Vadim Nurzhits in Ramallah, a gruesome incident that escalated tensions during the Second Intifada, one of the Palestinian policemen who participated in the act has been freed from Israeli prison and sent to the Gaza Strip. Hatam Magari was arrested in 2000. In 2004, he was convicted of murdering Avrahami along with other crimes associated with the lynching, and was sentenced to life in prison. The incident occurred after the reservists mistakenly entered Ramallah. They were taken to the local police station as angry crowds followed. A police officer opened the door to the station and a mob entered, killing the soldiers and mutilating their bodies. In a particularly infamous photo from the incident, attacker Abd al-Aziz Salaha is shown displaying his blood-covered hands out the police station window as a crowd cheers below. An appeal of Magari's conviction and a petition to the High Court of Justice were both rejected. However, he was recently granted a retrial due to new evidence that cast doubt on whether he was as an active participant in Avrahami's murder in a manner admissible in criminal court. In the retrial, Magari was instead granted a plea bargain, wherein he was convicted of attacking a soldier and failing to prevent a crime. His conviction of other security charges remains unchanged. The military court sentenced him to 11 and a half years in prison. Magari agreed not to seek damages over the courts handling of the case and, having been imprisoned since 2000, was released immediately. "The defendant was involved in an incident that is etched into the consciousness of the Israeli public, perhaps more than any other incident," the judges wrote in the ruling. "No one can forget the images of abused IDF soldiers, broadcast on television on that bitter day, Oct. 12, 2000. According to the indictment, the defendant standing trial before us, had a small role in the incident. He was among the police officers who arrested the soldiers and brought them to the police station, and the defendant even beat the soldiers on the way to the station but, according to the indictment, he was not among those who attacked the soldiers inside the station and led to their deaths." The families of the victims were reportedly not informed of Magari's release. Avrahami's son, Roi, told Israel Radio that he was disappointed that he had not at least received a telephone call to be updated on the developments leading to the release. He further said, "You can't release him. The justice system and the prosecution failed once again in allowing the release of a murderer, but we do not have any expectations of them. However, I trust that our defense establishment will settle the score with him one day." Speaking on a personal note, Roi added, "Almost 17 years have passed, and the pain remains. It is not true that time heals; we just learn to channel the pain elsewhere." He noted the family will not appeal, saying, "No one has energy to get into these wars, because there is no result that will bring Dad back." The IDF apologized for leaving Roi uninformed. "The IDF was in contact with the late Yossi Avrahamis father, and notified him in advance of the plea bargain reached yesterday. After the fact, it became clear that the information did not reach the widow and son of the murder victim. We regret this and will learn from this with the goal of preventing the repetition of such incidents," the military said in a statement An IDF official noted that contact was made only with Avrahamis father because Magaris case dealt more directly with Avrahami rather than with both victims.
