Kfar Kassem resident convicted of manslaughter for driving terrorist in 2002.
By JPOST.COM STAFFjp.services1(photo credit: )
A man convicted of manslaughter for driving a suicide bomber to his destination five years ago was sentenced on Tuesday in the Tel Aviv District Court to seven years in prison.
Islam Badir, 28, of Kfar Kassem, agreed to a plea bargain and was charged with manslaughter and 55 counts of causing grievous harm for driving the bomber from Kfar Kassem to Petah Tikva. The terrorist finally detonated himself on Allenby St. in Tel Aviv, killing Rachel Charchi, 38, and wounding 55 others.
Despite the fact that Badir was aware that his passenger was planning a terror attack, the judge wrote in the ruling, he had "shut his eyes and done nothing."
Less than a month ago, three Israelis were sentenced to 13 years in prison for having transported a suicide bomber who blew himself up outside Netanya's Sharon Mall in July 2005. Five were killed in the attack and more than 90 wounded.
The three, Ramat Gan resident Kfir Levy, 26, Taiba resident Shani Saif Azzam, 35, and Abd Abu Mukh, 30, of Baka al-Gharbiya, were convicted in March of manslaughter and on 30 counts of causing serious injury.
The judge ruled that the three had suspected that their passenger was a terrorist but did nothing about it. Instead, they were satisfied when the bomber showed them tools in his bag, which he said were to be used for stealing cars. They were paid NIS 1,000 each for transporting the bomber, five times the usual fare for the journey.
