Two Haifa Women Sentenced for Robbing Elderly Neighbor During Lebanon Conflict
The Haifa District Court sentenced two women from the Halisa neighborhood for robbing their elderly neighbor, whom they met in a shared bomb shelter during the 2024 Lebanon conflict. Asil Nassar, 25, from Kaaboul, and her partner Mayar Haib, 26, from Zarzir, exploited the 80-year-old woman's loneliness amid wartime conditions. After gaining her trust through repeated visits, they invited her for tea and then stole cash and credit cards from her apartment.
On Yom Kippur, October 12, 2024, while one distracted the woman, the other searched her home for money and credit cards, stealing $300 in cash. Attempts to use the stolen cards online and in stores failed after the cards were blocked. Two weeks later, on October 27, the women returned to force the elderly woman to reveal her PIN. When she refused, one assaulted her, while the other threatened to kill her. They subdued her by pulling her hair, throwing her on a sofa, and suffocating her with pillows until she lost consciousness. They then stole her phone, apartment key, and 100 shekels before withdrawing 5,000 shekels from her bank account the next day.
Judge Ilanit Imber condemned the crime as a "resounding moral low," highlighting the escalating severity and cruelty of the offenses. She emphasized the societal duty to protect the elderly and ruled out focusing on rehabilitation over punishment. Nassar received 32 months in prison and 6,000 shekels in compensation, while Haib was sentenced to 68 months and 12,000 shekels compensation, both with additional suspended sentences. Defense attorneys announced plans to appeal, citing mitigating circumstances and ongoing rehabilitation efforts.
The court also referenced Jewish legal principles about respecting the elderly and stressed the lack of genuine remorse shown by the defendants. The case included additional charges related to violence between the two women. The defendants' lawyers expressed surprise at the harsh sentences but affirmed their commitment to appeal based on their clients' backgrounds and rehabilitation progress.
