IDF soldier (archive)
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2 years in prison for J'lem duo who planned to kidnap soldier
Two young men plan to kidnap soldiers in order to instigate prisoner swap deal in exchange for their family members sentenced to life in Israeli prisons, receive prison sentences themselves
Jerusalem District Court handed down sentenced of two years in prison Wednesday to two young men from the village of Issawiya in northern Jerusalem after they entered a plea bargain for planning to kidnap a soldier and for setting fire to a voting station during local elections. In addition, the two received a suspended sentence of nine months by Judge Moshe Sobol.
According to the indictment, Ayad Aabid and Abdullah Aabid planned to crash a tractor into a military jeep stationed on the outskirts of their neighborhood and the kidnap the soldiers in the jeep. "The plan's objective was to instigate a prisoner swap deal with the soldiers the culprits kidnapped and two members of the Aabid family who were sentenced to life imprisonment in Israel," the indictment read.
In addition, the two men planned to take the kidnapped soldiers' weapons.
To this end, the two obtained two daggers, two clubs, a stun gun, a gas pistol, two masks, and two pairs of gloves. In addition, the two planned to throw Molotov cocktails on the road.
The two men were also charged with aiding the arson of a voting station during Jerusalem's gubernatorial elections. Ayad and Abdullah Aabid initially denied all charges against them, but later admitted to the allegations made as part of a plea bargain. Neither of them had a prior criminal record.
