In a dramatic, last-minute turn, the military prosecution charged the terrorist responsible for the murder of Yohai Avni, a 40-year-old resident of Givon HaHadasha in the West Bank, with committing the crime "because the victim was Jewish." This nationalist motive was added to the indictment just hours before it was presented in military court Tuesday morning, marking the first official recognition – 51 days after the incident – that it was indeed a terrorist attack. This decision came after persistent pressure from the victim's family and media coverage by Ynet and "Yedioth Ahronoth.
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Yohai Avni on the right and terrorist Ibrahim Mansour
(Photo: Liran Tamari, Private album from the family)
The indictment accuses Hamas operative Ibrahim Mansour of intentionally causing death, an offense equivalent to murder under military law. Military tribunal judge, Major Barak Tamir, ordered that Mansour remain in custody until at least September 11. "The indictment details how the accused decided to enter Givon HaHadasha, knowing it was a settlement populated solely by Jews, and proceeded to cause the victim's death. It describes the brutal acts and how the accused stabbed the victim 66 times," the judge said.
Previously, Ynet reported that a polygraph test revealed Mansour lied about not planning the murder, which he claimed was a burglary gone wrong during his interrogation. Further investigation indicated that Mansour roamed the settlement with a knife shortly before the murder. The forensic institute confirmed that Avni was stabbed 66 times across his body.
Some of the details in the indictment are difficult to read.
The horrific attack occurred on July 7. The indictment graphically recounts the chilling sequence of events. Mansour initially attempted to break into a second-floor apartment but, finding the door locked, climbed onto the roof and entered through a window. Yohai, a prison service officer, was asleep in bed. Despite seeing Yohai asleep, Mansour entered, and when Yohai awoke, a struggle ensued as he tried to defend himself and shouted for help.
According to the indictment: "The defendant resolved to cause the deceased's death, attacking him with extreme brutality, partly because he was Jewish." It describes how, as Yohai tried to defend himself, Mansour struck his head with a vase with such force that it shattered into many pieces. "The defendant beat the victim with a chair multiple times until the chair broke from the force of the blows," the indictment adds.
Mansour murdered Yohai with 66 stabbings using two different knives, one of which came from the apartment's kitchen and had an 17-inch blade. The indictment gruesomely details the number of times Yohai was stabbed in different body parts: nine times in the head, nine in the neck, 10 in the chest, once in the abdomen, twenty in the back, five in the torso, twice in the buttocks, and once each in the shoulder, arm, hand and thigh. Most of the stabbings were inflicted with the knife or a similarly sized blade.
Finally, the indictment states: "The defendant drove the knife into the deceased's neck, on the right rear, and plunged it deeply through the neck until the blade emerged from the left front side – all because the deceased was Jewish and to ensure his death. After the murder, the terrorist set the apartment on fire and fled but was arrested two days later."
Attorney Ran Ruchberger said the family is relieved that the charge includes the nationalist motive. "The family feels a great sense of relief this morning and welcomes the indictment," said Ruchberger, the family's lawyer. "We appreciate the military prosecution's consideration of our arguments. The indictment clearly acknowledges the nationalist motive behind the heinous murder of Yohai Avni, offering some solace to the grieving family."
Yohai's sister, Nitzan, spoke during the morning hearing. "We lost the most precious person, Yohai Avni. He was incredibly good, with endless generosity. We suffered an immense loss. As days passed, we uncovered the horrific act of hatred committed by the terrorist, an act of terrorism. Two days ago, we learned he was stabbed 66 times – not just in vital organs but all over his body, not only to kill but to torture. He then burned everything."
"We are confident that justice is on our side," said Nitzan. "We fought a hard battle, with high costs, but it's our fight as a nation, as Jews, with such a difficult history. My father is a son of Holocaust survivors, whose entire family was murdered and burned in Auschwitz. I, too, am a granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, as is my husband, Niv. We'll do everything to ensure that in Israel, we can sleep peacefully, put our children to bed at night without fearing a terrorist will come and commit hate crimes against us. Such a situation cannot exist. We'll do everything, and the prosecution, the State of Israel, will stand with us, for we have no other option. We are together. As Yohai said in his video: Am Yisrael Chai!"