Abed al-Karim Adel Assi
Terrorist who murdered Rabbi Ben Gal indicted
Indictment, served at Lod District Court, notes that Abed al-Karim Adel Assi was intent on murdering Jews following an argument he had with an IDF soldier, and targeted the 29-year-old father of four after seeing he was wearing a kippah; Assi also bragged on Facebook about his act after the murder.
The Central District Attorney’s Office filed Thursday to the Lod District Court an indictment against Abed al-Karim Adel Assi,
the terrorist who fatally stabbed 29-year-old Rabbi Itamar Ben Gal
in February.
Assi carried out the stabbing near the entrance to the settlement of Ariel in the Samaria region of the West Bank on February 5. Ben Gal is survived by his wife, Miriam, and their four children.
Abed al-Karim Adel Assi arrested (צילום: דובר צה"ל)
Following a prolonged manhunt, Assi was was caught in Nablus a month-and-a-half later, along with several other suspects who helped him hide.
According to the indictment, Assi decided on February 5 to commit an ideologically- and nationalistically-motivated act of terror, and to murder Jews following an argument that he had with an IDF soldier at the Ariel Junction.
To that end, the same day the terrorist purchased in Nablus two 27cm knives and made his way to the junction, where he saw Ben Gal standing nearby.
Identifying his target as a Jew due to his clothing and kippah (skullcap), Assi approached his victim, pulled out one of the knives and stabbed him in his chest and stomach.
Rabbi Itamar Ben Gal (Photo: Yair Sagi)
After Ben Gal attempted to flee the scene, the indictment notes, the terrorist chased him intending to continue the attack. The continuation of the stabbing was only prevented after a driver spotted the incident and hit Assi with his vehicle.
Ynet learned that a day before the attack, the terrorist approached a hitchhiking stop in Ariel and told a group of Kfir soldiers: “I remember your faces you bi***s.” Seeing that Assi was carrying a blue Israeli ID card, he was released.
Abed al-Karim Adel Assi
After managing to flee the scene and elude Israeli security guards for more than a month, Assi was eventually arrested on March 18.
During his investigation, the terrorist confessed to all the charges leveled against him and described exactly how the murder took place.
It also emerged during the investigation that he had uploaded to his Facebook page a post taking responsibility for the murder.
