Israel refuses to recognise murdered Palestinian as ‘victim of terrorism’

The murder of a Palestinian mother by illegal Israeli settlers was recognised as a terror attack yesterday by the Israeli authorities, but bizarrely they are denying to acknowledge her as a victim of terrorism.

The 47-year-old mother of eight, Aisha Al-Rabi, was killed in 2018 after being hit on the side of her head by a rock which was hurled by Jewish settlers through the windshield of the car in which she was travelling. The attack took place at Tapuah Junction (Za’atara), south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, as Aisha and her husband Yaqoub Al-Rabi were driving past an illegal settlement, causing Mr Al-Rabi to lose control of their car.

Only the Israeli who threw the rock has been imprisoned in a juvenile detention facility, as he was 16 years old at the time of the incident and a student at the Pri Haaretz yeshiva in the northern West Bank settlement of Rehelim. Despite being charged with manslaughter, aggravated stone throwing at a moving vehicle, and intentional sabotage of a vehicle, he was released under house arrest after just four months.

The Israeli Defence Ministry’s criteria require individuals targeted in attacks either to be Israeli citizens or have an Israeli residence permit in order to be recognised as victims of terrorism and receive compensation from the National Insurance Institute. Aisha Al-Rabi did not meet any of these criteria.

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According to the Times of Israel, the lawyers representing Al-Rabi’s family, Nabila Kaboub and Mohamad Rahal, plan to appeal against the decision in order to have Aisha regarded as a victim of terrorism.

Furthermore, Rahal also plans to use yesterday’s ruling to file a motion to have Yaqoub Al-Rabi and his nine-year-old daughter Rama also recognised as terror victims. This, he expects will allow for “a swift accreditation” by the Israeli authorities on the matter as Mr Al-Rabi now holds an Israeli residence permit.

The lawyer added that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas offered to file a case in the International Criminal Court against Israel regarding Aisha’s murder after he met her widower earlier this month, the Times of Israel reported. However, Al-Rabi’s lawyers said it was not yet clear whether the case would move forward at The Hague.