Court Increases Sentence for October 7th Car Thief to 7.5 Years

The Beersheba District Court on Thursday, September 24, increased the prison sentence for Guy Hadad, 44, to 7.5 years for stealing cars from victims of the October 7th Hamas attacks. Hadad had stolen vehicles from the kibbutz of Be'eri, including the car of hostage Eli Sharabi, after the massacre. This decision came after the Southern District Prosecutor's Office appealed a lower court's sentence of 5.5 years for criminal conspiracy and five counts of car theft.

Prosecutors argued that the initial sentence did not reflect societal condemnation of Hadad's actions. The district court judges agreed, adding two years to his sentence. Hadad, who owned a private towing service, volunteered with a logistics support team in areas attacked by Hamas. He instructed a tractor driver to find cars in Be'eri that could be sold to Palestinians, load them onto a tow truck, and transport them away. Eli Sharabi only learned his car was stolen after returning from captivity.

The judges stated that Hadad exploited the spirit of solidarity and mutual aid during the chaos following the attacks for personal gain, stealing property from those who had lost everything. The original ruling noted that Hadad had meticulously planned his crimes and used the volunteer center as a base for his illegal activities, damaging the spirit of self-sacrifice and public sentiment.

The prosecution had highlighted that the maximum sentence for Hadad's crimes is 12 years, describing him as an "internal enemy" who exploited unsuspecting volunteers. The new ruling emphasized that Hadad made a "monstrous decision" to enrich himself at the expense of residents of border communities, many of whom were killed or taken hostage, while the country was in mourning and mobilizing for war.