The scene of the terror attack in Hadera
צילום: חגי אהרון
Man who assisted Hadera market bomber convicted
Haifa District Court finds Fakri Mantzur guilty of being accomplice to murder and of aiding the enemy in time of war
The Haifa District court on Wednesday found 28-year-old Fakri Mantzur, from the northern town of Jat in Wadi Ara, guilty of being an accomplice to six counts of murder and of aiding an enemy in time of war for his role in transporting a suicide bomber to a market in Hadera in 2005, where six Israelis were killed and 30 more injured.
Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack at the time.
A Shin Bet investigation led to the arrest of Fakri, a Palestinian who moved to Israel due to the Family Reunification Law. Fakri drove the terrorist, a resident of the West Bank town of Qalqilya, from the Jat area to Hadera.
Judge Yael Vilner, who wrote the verdict, said the testimony of Said Kashua, who accompanied the terrorist from the Palestinian Authority to Hadera, was key in convicting Fakri.
"We were presented with evidence proving that the defendant drove Kashua and the suicide bomber to the market in Hadera," she wrote. "Fakri was aware that the terrorist was carrying an explosive device and that he was on his way to carrying out an attack at the market. Despite this, the defendant still chose to drive the terrorist to the site."
Prior to the hearing Fakri reiterated his claim that he was not aware that one of his passengers was a suicide bomber.
"I make a living by driving workers, and I had no idea he was a terrorist," Fakri said. He initially claimed that he did not leave the house on the day of the attack.
Sentencing in the case is expected next month.
