Palestinian sentenced to life in prison for the death of an Israeli soldier in an operation in the West Bank

An Israeli military court sentenced this Thursday to life imprisonment a Palestinian man identified as Nadmi Abu Baker, found guilty of the death of a member of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) who was hit by a stone during a security operation in the northern West Bank in May 2020.

The Military Court of Samaria – as Israel refers to the West Bank – has issued this verdict considering that Abu Baker “intentionally caused the death” of soldier Amit Ben Yigal, the IDF announced in a statement in which it refers to the accused, who has also been found guilty of obstruction of justice, as a “terrorist”.

The court has accepted the charges brought by the Military Prosecutor’s Office against Abu Baker, which must compensate the soldier’s family with more than four million shekels (just over one million euros). According to the prosecutor, the man “threw half a brick, weighing between 9 and 11 kilos, from the roof of a building at soldiers of the Israeli Army with the intention of causing their death.”

“The brick that the terrorist threw hit First Sergeant Amit Ben Yigal, causing his death. Subsequently, the terrorist fled from the roof to his house (…) Once the forces left the place, he returned to the area, collected fragments of the brick from the place and threw them on the edge of the road, with the aim of hindering the investigation,” maintains the Public Ministry.

Yigal was 21 years old and was part of a battalion that had gone to the West Bank town of Yabad to make arrests, an operation in which he died and which initially resulted in the death of four detainees: two allegedly involved in terrorist activities and two accused of throwing stones.