Jerusalem Court Sentences Terrorist to 22.5 Years for Attempted Murder of Elderly Woman

The Jerusalem District Court sentenced Nabil Shaabani, a 62-year-old Jerusalem resident, to 22 and a half years in prison and ordered him to pay 150,000 shekels in compensation. Shaabani was convicted of an attempted murder motivated by nationalist-ideological reasons and theft from a 74-year-old woman he had known for years through maintenance work at her home.

Shaabani admitted to strangling the elderly woman twice, stabbing her in the chest and neck, and stealing jewelry and money from her home. According to the amended indictment, Shaabani was driven by despair over his economic situation and family estrangement. After watching media reports about the situation in Gaza during the "Iron Swords" war, he decided to die while carrying out a stabbing attack against Jews, initially planning to attack near the Jerusalem light rail station due to the heavy security presence.

However, when he arrived at the woman’s home to complete repair work, he chose to carry out the attack there, even if it did not result in his death. After believing he had killed her, he returned to the scene to retrieve his walking stick, found her still alive, and then strangled and stabbed her again to ensure her death. The victim was seriously injured but survived.

The prosecution sought a sentence between 22 and 26 years, emphasizing the betrayal of trust, cruelty, repeated attempts to kill, nationalist motive, and severe physical and psychological harm to the victim. The judges highlighted the attack’s impact on the fragile coexistence between Arabs and Jews in Jerusalem and the severity of targeting a Jewish victim at her workplace. They also noted the rise in similar lethal attacks in recent years, including the October 2023 stabbing incidents, calling for strict deterrent sentencing.

Despite Shaabani’s cooperation and confession, he showed no remorse during his final court statements. The court also imposed six months of suspended sentence in addition to the prison term, which will be counted from his arrest date.