IDF tribunal convicts Palestinian in death of settler

Salam al-Zaghal stabbed Evyatar Borovsky at Tapuah Junction; Borovsky's wife: Death is only fitting punishment for this act.

By YONAH JEREMY BOB
Evyatar Borovsky 370 (photo credit: Nir Elias/Reuters)
Evyatar Borovsky 370
(photo credit: Nir Elias/Reuters)
The Samaria Military Court on Sunday convicted Salam al-Zaghal of the murder of Evyatar Borovsky, a father of five, at the Tapuah junction in April.
Sophia Borovsky, Evyatar’s widow, responded to the conviction, stating, “The law for an abominable murderer is death. Period.”
“That is the only punishment which is fitting for this kind of an act,” she said.
“In recent days it is known that [Prime Minister Binyamin] Netanyahu and his government are preparing to release Arabs who are murderers that spilled the blood of Jews,” she said, concluding that such actions by the government sent the message that “Jewish blood is for free.”
According to a statement by the IDF, Zaghal was convicted based on a confession to the crimes.
The IDF statement said that arguments regarding Zaghal’s punishment would take place in September.
Borovsky, from the settlement of Yitzhar, was stabbed to death in what was at the time the first lethal terror attack in the West Bank since 2011.
Following the murder, settlers rioted and attacked both Palestinians and Israeli security forces in the West Bank.
In the attack, Zaghal came up from behind the victim, Evyatar, stabbed him in the chest and stomach, and stole his firearm. A Border Police officer who witnessed the attack opened fire on the terrorist and moderately wounded him. Borovsky was taken from the scene to The Rabin Medical Center-Beilinson Campus in Petah Tikva for treatment but succumbed to his wounds.
Capt. Barak Raz of the IDF’s Judea and Samaria Division told The Jerusalem Post at the time that it had been more than a year since an Israeli was killed by terrorism in the West Bank, despite some violent incidents.
“This reminds us that even in times of relative calm, the alertness and quick response by security forces are very necessary,” he said. “We are working 24 hours a day to maintain this stability.”
Ben Hartman, Yaakov Lappin, and Tovah Lazaroff contributed to this story.