Ari Fuld’s killer sentenced to life in prison, NIS 1.25 million in restitution

An Israeli court handed down a lifetime sentence to Khalil Jabarin, who stabbed to death American-Israeli activist Ari Fuld in a brutal ambush at a Gush Etzion shopping center in 2018.

By Ebin Sandler, World Israel News

Seconds after being stabbed repeatedly in the back by Palestinian Khalil Jabarin in 2018, Ari Fuld chased after his attacker, releasing several rounds from his handgun before collapsing from his injuries.

Fuld’s act of bravery occurred at a strip mall in Gush Etzion Junction and witnesses, such as falafel maker Hila Peretz, credited the 45-year-old American-Israeli with saving their lives and preventing Jabarin’s terror attack from continuing.

On Tuesday, an Israeli court sentenced Jabarin to life in prison, in addition to ordering him to pay NIS 1,250,000 ($365,128) in restitution to Fuld’s family. Jabarin was convicted of murder in January.

Following the sentencing, Fuld’s widow Miriam and his mother Mary commented on the lifetime prison term, remarking that it brought little consolation in light of their loss. Prior to the verdict, Miriam recalled her husband’s heroism and his pride in protecting the nation and the Jewish people through both his service in the IDF and his advocacy work.

Until his death, Fuld remained an unwavering voice defending the State of Israel’s right to exist, both online and in real life, directly challenging those who promote falsehoods about the Jewish state.

Prior to the sentencing on Tuesday, Fuld’s younger brother Hillel, a tech leader in Israel’s start-up ecosystem, took to social media to comment on the proceedings’ potential outcomes.

“They say nothing will bring him back and I know that’s a cliche but there is a reason it’s a cliche. It’s because it’s so deeply accurate and real,” said the younger Fuld.

“Of course I want this terrorist to sit in jail for the rest of his life but what will that actually accomplish?” he continued. “It’ll prevent him from doing it again. But it won’t bring back Ari’s energy or his passion. So while my brain says I hope he gets the most severe sentencing possible, my heart is, at least on some level, indifferent. ‘What does it really matter?’ I keep asking myself.”

The Fuld family was represented by attorney Maurice Hirsch, who commented in January, “Ari’s murder was a direct result of the rampant incitement in the Palestinian Authority’s education system and the monthly salaries the PA pays to terrorists. We expect the court to sentence the murderer to life in prison so that he will only be released when he dies.”

According to Palestinian Authority policy, murderers like Jabarin and their families are entitled to lifetime monthly stipends, a practice that Israel and the United States has attempted to thwart legally.

In addition to his widow, Fuld left behind four children in the town of Efrat in Judea.

In January 2019, the IDF demolished the Jabarin’s home in the village of Yatta, part of a longstanding official policy designed to deter potential attackers.