An Israeli court on Sunday sentenced six Arab residents of Lod and a Palestinian from the West Bank to prison terms ranging from 11 to 17 years for their role in the killing of Yigal Yehoshua, who was fatally injured during intercommunal riots in May 2021 that coincided with Israel’s war in Gaza, known as Guardian of the Walls.
The Central District Court in Lod convicted the seven of aggravated intentional assault committed as a terrorist act, deliberate damage to a vehicle motivated by racism, and an act of terrorism involving stone-throwing at a vehicle.
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Karim Bahlul, Kamel Allah, Yosef Kadaim, Khaled Hassouna, Walid Kadaim, Iyad Marahala and Ahmad Danon
(Photo: Shin Bet)
The defendants are Lod residents Yosef Kadaim, 21; Walid Kadaim, 25; Karim Bahlul, 18; Iyad Marahala, 20; Khaled Hassouna, 51; and Kamel Allah, 21, along with Ahmad Danon, 25, a Palestinian from the village of Rantis near Ramallah.
Dozens of relatives of the defendants, as well as supporters of Yehoshua’s family, gathered at the courthouse for the sentencing. Outside, several people waved Israeli flags in solidarity with the Yehoshua family.
Judge cites chaotic backdrop
In her ruling, the presiding judge said the attack took place amid unprecedented unrest across Israel. “The acts of Jewish rioters that preceded the incident served as a trigger for the defendants’ actions, which were not premeditated,” she wrote. “We took into account the circumstances in which the crimes were committed. The days of Guardian of the Walls were days of riots, disorder and blocked roads, while the entire country was burning from within and from without.”
The court had already ruled in April that Yehoshua’s lynching constituted an act of terror. Judges wrote that the motive was “nationalistic — to harm Jews because they are Jews.”
Still, under a plea deal reached with the prosecution, the defendants were not charged with murder.
Reduced charges under plea deal
Yehoshua, a 56-year-old Lod resident, was struck in the head with a brick during the riots. The original indictment in 2021 charged the seven men with murder. But after reaching a plea agreement with the state, the charges were reduced to aggravated assault under terrorist circumstances, racially motivated property damage, and stone-throwing at a vehicle.
The defendants admitted to the offenses under the deal, though they did not admit to the charges’ terrorism and racist motivation clauses.
The indictment said the group intended to throw stones at Jewish vehicles in order to injure drivers and passengers. Two of the defendants are relatives of Moussa Hassouna, a Lod resident who had been shot and killed by Jews several days earlier.
Attack and aftermath
According to the revised indictment, the defendants hurled stones at Yehoshua’s car after identifying him as Jewish. One stone struck his head at close range and with force, causing a severe brain injury and skull fracture.
Lynching of Lod resident Yigal Yehoshua
(Video: Israel Police)
Yehoshua initially slowed down and veered to the side of the road, then stopped as two unidentified men approached his car. He drove slowly into a dirt lot, where he lingered for several minutes. Summoning his last strength, he managed to drive home at low speed. He lost consciousness upon arrival and was evacuated to the hospital.
Doctors declared him brain-dead on May 17. After his family donated his organs, he was pronounced dead.
The indictment also stated that, after realizing they had struck Yehoshua, most of the defendants — with the exception of Danon and Allah — discussed disabling security cameras to conceal their role. One cut off the cameras at a nearby banquet hall and handed the DVR to another.