Ronen Lubarsky's father to judge: 'Only death penalty will stop terrorists'
The bereaved father calls for the death penalty in a letter addressed to government ministers, which he intends to read in front of the judges; 'It must be the first in a series of steps that will change reality and give hope to the people of Israel'; Im Tirtzu's CEO: 'giving terrorists the death penalty is life-saving.'
Ahead of Tuesday's trial of Islam Yusuf Hamid—the terrorist who killed Staff Sgt. Ronen Lubarsky two months ago, the Duvdevan soldier’s father, Vladimir Lubarsky, asked the trial’s judges to give the defendant a death penalty.
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Staff Sgt. Ronen Lubarsky, a 20-year-old Rehovot resident, was a member of the army's elite Duvdevan Unit and was acting as part of the force that was serving an arrest warrant in the al-Am'ari refugee camp near Ramallah. An inquiry into the incident revealed that a large marble slab hit his head.
After receiving emergency medical attention in the field, Staff Sgt. Lubarsky was taken to the hospital and hospitalized in its intensive care unit, where he was later pronounced dead.
Following the attack, soldiers from the IDF's elite Duvdevan unit raided a Refugee Camp in the late morning hours and pulled the terrorist who killed their friend Ronen, out of bed. The terrorist was arrested and brought to Israel to stand trial.
The terrorist Hamid, who was hiding in a different house in the crowded and violent refugee camp, has already served five years in Israeli prison for his involvement in a Hamas-led shooting attack.
Hamid comes from a family of Hamas terrorists behind several attacks that killed Israelis in the past.
Four of his brothers, also Hamas members, are serving life sentences for their involvement in murderous terror attacks during the second intifada, including the 2002 Seafood Market attack in Tel Aviv that claimed the lives of three Israelis.
One of the brothers is serving a life sentence for the 1994 shooting of Shin Bet operative Noam Cohen.
Half of the Hamid family is affiliated with Hamas and the other with Fatah. Hamid's elder brother is one of the founders of the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades and the right hand of Marwan Barghouti.
None of the Hamid brothers who were sentenced to life had been released in the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange deal.
In a letter addressed to government ministers, which he intends to read before the judges, Ronen's father writes: "Let us restore deterrence and save lives, as my late son did and our soldiers keep on doing day after day, night after night."
"The trial of my son's murderer must be the first in a series of steps that will change reality and give hope to the people of Israel," he stressed.
"Five brothers of the terrorist who murdered Ronen committed terrorist attacks, in which nine people were murdered. Four brothers were sentenced to cumulative life sentences and the fifth brother was killed during his arrest," Lubarsky added.
"It is possible that if all five brothers were sentenced to death, Ronen's life would have been spared. Only the death penalty guarantees that terrorists will not return to the cycle of terrorism. "
Matan Peleg, CEO of right-wing organization Im Tirtzu, who accompanies the Lubarsky family together with the "Choosing Life" forum of beraved families explained on Sunday why he supports the father's request.
"The circle of terror must be cut off, and only real deterrence can do so. Thus, giving terrorists the death penalty and banishing terrorists' family members are essentially life-saving measures."
