Hamed's vehicle
Car-rammer who killed soldier allegedly planned other attacks
Malak Hamed, 23, is indicted for murdering Sgt. Elchai Teharlev, 20, last month; he changed his mind at the last minute for his earlier attacks.
An indictment was filed Thursday against 23-year-old Malak Hamed for the murder of Sgt. Elchai Teharlev in a car-ramming attack in April in the West Bank.
The indictment, filed at the military court in Judea, reveals that during his Shin Bet interrogation, the resident of Silwad, near Ramallah, admitted that he had planned to kill Israelis on two other occasions in the four months preceding the attack.
Malak first had intended to stab IDF soldiers, and he later planned to run over civilians and soldiers like he finally did in April. He reportedly changed his mind at the last minute on those two occasions.
Hamed's car after the attack (Photo: AP)
Hamed’s interrogation revealed that he had decided to carry out the attack on his own initiative but was inspired by his two friends who carried out attacks in the area and “for the Hamas organization, as a gift and for the honor of Hamas.”
The indictment alleges that on the day of the attack, Hamed and his father went to work at a construction site in Ramallah. After the two arrived at the site, the son left his father, took the car and began driving on Route 60 to search for his victims.
Elchai Teharlev
The charges claim that Hamed passed Ofra Junction twice where the 20-year-old Teharlev was standing before attacking. The first two times, the soldiers were standing behind concrete bollards at the bus stop, the purpose of which is to prevent such attacks. Only on his third pass did he allegedly identify soldiers and civilians standing in a location he could strike with his car.
Hamed drove past before making a U-turn and accelerating to 100 kph until he struck Teharlev and another soldier who was lightly wounded.
Hamed is also charged with three counts of attempted murder, performing a service for an unlawful organization and membership in Hamas. Regarding the final charge, he is accused of having been a member since 2006 and participating in a procession on behalf of the organization.
(Translated and edited by J. Herzog)
