[VIDEO IN EXTENDED ARTICLE]

It was a routine Friday in Jerusalem’s Old City five years ago. As was his custom, Kfar Manda resident Ahmed Hatib arrived for prayer services on Har HaBayis. The 28-year-old factory worker was employed in Beit Shean and was active in his village chapter of the Islamic Movement.

However, on that fateful day Hatib did not head home on the organized bus as he usually did after services in al-Aqsa Mosque concluded, remaining in the Old City, hanging around the alleys and streets of the area.

He began walking behind two security guards employed by the Modi’in Ezrachi Company. When they got near Naot David one of the guards walked into one of the stores to buy a drink. Hatib realized it was his chance and he made his move. He jumped the lone guard and grabbed his handgun and ran off as he was shooting. The guard ran after him. One of the guards was wounded in a shoulder during the pursuit. The second guard shot and killed Hatib. The incident was captured on video by the security cameras that monitor the streets and alleyways of the area.

After the terror attack the film was released and the events are seen as described. Israel Police and the Defense Ministry recognized it for what it was, a terrorist attack, but the judicial system does not agree.

Bituach Leumi (National Insurance Institute) canceled child payments and other benefits for Hatib’s widow and children as demanded by law. The family however realized the value of the left-wing liberal Israeli judicial system and they decided to challenge the case in court claiming Hatib was simply gunned down in cold blood, unjustifiably, denying any terror attack occurred.

While the family tried filing a criminal indictment against the guards, Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court Judge Avraham Rubin dismissed the case. The family remained determined and took their case in another direction filing suit against Bituach Leumi demanding the state agency resume monthly payments to the widow and family. The case was heard by the Haifa District Labor Court and the judge assigned was Maha Samir Amar.

The court reviewed the testimony of the main investigator, Asher Lazimi, who stated Hatib had a hammer under his coat, justifying his signing off on the incident as a terror attack. As seen in the video, Hatib was wearing a short sleeved shirt and there was no jacket, coat or hammer. There were a number of other discrepancies in the officer’s statement leading the court to overrule the “terror attack” designation.

The attorney representing Bituach Leumi was also a member of the Arab community. She asked the court to reject the appeal, explaining all the relevant agencies determined the incident was terrorism. The court however accepted the petition, overturning the previous ruling due to the grey areas in the testimony of the senior investigator.

After viewing the video the court felt that it is clear the security guards killed Hatib after he fled but he, Hatib, did not kill them as one would expect in a terror attack. (The court does not address the fact that Hatib fired numerous times but missed).

The court also rejected the testimony of one of the guards, who stated that Hatib fired at them, trying to kill them, but he was unsuccessful.

The court ruled that Hatib was a “normal regular individual” and therefore there was no logical explanation for him to suddenly become a terrorist.

Ignoring the previous decision and evidence in the case, the court ruled that Bituach Leumi failed to prove the incident was indeed terrorism and therefore, the state agency is compelled to resume making monthly payments to the widow and her family.

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(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)