Court convicts abetter in Fogel family murder

Yazis Hassan Muhammad Awad convicted for involvement in the March 2011 murder of 5 members of the Fogel family in Itamar.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN
Fogel family 311 (photo credit: Courtesy: Itamar community)
Fogel family 311
(photo credit: Courtesy: Itamar community)
The Military court of Samaria on Sunday sentenced a Palestinian man on charges of aiding and abetting two other Palestinians who murdered five members of the Fogel family last year in their home in Itamar.
Yazis Hassan Muhammad Awad was convicted of sheltering the murderers, Amjad Awad and Hakem Awad; disrupting the course of an investigation by instructing the killers in how Israeli security forces investigate attacks; and of being in possession of two M-16 rifles stolen during the massacre.
Yazis Awad had denied all charges, but was unanimously convicted by the court following a trial.
The Samaria Military Court in September, 2011 sentenced 18-year-old Hakim Awad to five life sentences for murdering the Fogel family, including Udi, 36, his wife Ruth, 35, and their children Yoav, 11, Elad, 4 and Hadas, 3 months.
Hakim Awad admitted to the charges against him in the indictment, according to which he and another youth, Amjad Awad, murdered the Fogels in March 2011.
In January of this year, the Samaria District Military Court sentenced Amjad Awad to five life terms and seven years for his role in the killings.
Correction: An earlier version of this article specified the suspect was sentenced on charges of aiding and abetting two other Palestinians who murdered five members of the Fogel family. The suspect has not been sentenced, rather convicted of aiding and abetting criminals.