Three notorious terrorists, one of them a Jerusalem native, were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza after years of involvement in deadly attacks against Israeli civilians. All three had previously been released from Israeli prisons as part of the 2011 Gilad Shalit deal
According to Hamas’ Information Office for Prisoner Affairs, the strike was deliberately aimed at the three men while they were near a food distribution point. Palestinian sources claim the bodies were buried under rubble and took hours to recover
Murder on the way to the Western Wall
One of the three was Bassem Abu Sninah, a terrorist from Jerusalem who murdered 25-year-old yeshiva student Chaim Kerman in 1998. Kerman, a resident of the Old City and a student at Ateret Cohanim Yeshiva, was attacked at 5:45 a.m. while walking to morning prayers at the Western Wall
He managed to fire a single bullet from his licensed weapon before being stabbed four times—in the chest, stomach, leg, and arm. His murderers were Abu Sninah and another Jerusalem resident, Riyad Asila. The two ambushed him in an alley and stabbed him over 30 times
Premeditated hatred
According to the indictment filed at the Jerusalem District Court, Abu Sninah and his accomplice had meticulously mapped out the yeshiva students’ walking routes to and from synagogue
(New Arrests at Jerusalem Wall Amid Ongoing Crackdown)
“The defendants planned the murder in detail and executed it solely because the victim was Jewish,” wrote the judges. “In committing such a brutal act, they forfeited any trace of humanity
During his police interrogation, Abu Sninah claimed he murdered Kerman to avenge the 1994 massacre in Hebron, when his grandfather was killed by Baruch Goldstein. He was sentenced to life in prison
Released, returned to terror, and exiled
Abu Sninah was freed in 2011 as part of the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange. He joined Hamas in Gaza and helped coordinate attacks through operatives in the West Bank and within Israel
He funneled money to terrorists and security prisoners to encourage further attacks. After renewed terror involvement, he was re-arrested and went on a hunger strike in prison. In 2013, he was expelled permanently to Gaza
His end came in a targeted strike—years after the murder that began it all
