The Jerusalem District Court convicted John Kakish, a Christian Arab terrorist from the Old City of Jerusalem, of causing aggravated injury when he assaulted Jews on the eve of last Shavuos.

On May 24, 2015, near Shar Shechem, Kakish stabbed two Jewish youths, both minors, who were on their way to Shavuos tefilos at the Kosel.

Kakish was convicted in the framework of a plea bargain. In return for his confession the Attorney General’s office expunged the crimes of possessing a knife and disrupting legal proceedings of which he was accused.

It is important to note that Kakish was not charged with attempted murder, despite the fact that he stabbed a Jewish youth in the back with a 30-centimeter knife. According to the Attorney General’s office there were difficulties in proving the intent to murder, despite the terrorist’s Facebook page on which he posted a large number of posts inciting to injure Jews.

Honenu Attorney Menashe Yado, who has been representing one of the injured youths as a crime victim, responded to the conviction: “We are disappointed that the terrorist was not convicted of attempted murder as he should have been, in our opinion. Nonetheless we hope and expect the Attorney General’s office to demand that justice be carried out to the full extent of the law, and the court to order the maximum penalty for the crime, especially during this period in which murderers fearlessly stab Jews on a daily basis.”

According to the amended indictment in which Kakish was convicted, on the eve of the attack he decided to attack and injure Jews. Kakish arrived at the area of Shar Shechem, approached one of the merchants and purchased a knife with a 30-centimeter blade from him.

Later the same day, close to midnight, Kakish took the knife from his room, hid it in his jacket and went to the Khan Al-Zeit market in the so-called Muslim Quarter where he waited for Jews to pass.

At 2:30 AM a group of Jewish youths walking to the Kosel passed through Shar Shechem. Kakish waited until the entire group passed him and was approximately 10 meters away from him. Then he drew his knife, ran towards the group, stabbed one of the youths in his right shoulder, stabbed another youth in the left side of his upper back and kicked another youth. All of the injured were minors. When the group began to chase Kakish, he fled the scene.

After fleeing the scene of the attack, Kakish threw his jacket and his knife into a hiding place near his house. He then went to the home of his friend, George Halis, and borrowed a shirt from him. Afterwards Kakish went to his own home, changed his clothes and shaved his beard in order to alter his appearance.

The youth who was stabbed in the back suffered a wound two centimeters deep and two centimeters long, approximately one centimeter from his spinal cord and lungs. He was rushed to hospital where a chest tube was inserted. The youth who was stabbed in his right shoulder suffered a deep wound above his right shoulder blade and required stitches in several layers of the wound.

Attached are screen shots of the terrorist’s Facebook page and a photograph showing the placement of the stab wound. 

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)